Giant Water Bug
Other Name(s): Toe-biter; Electric Light Bug
Characteristics: Large insect species with noticeable foreleg pincers. Mostly flat and oval shaped with dead leaf-like coloring. The Giant Water Bug is known to play dead in order to escape predators. It is also able to deliver a painful bite when disturbed or threatened (it carries the the nickname of "Toe-biter"). They make their homes at the bottom of muddy waters or surrounding vegetation. Drawn to light sources.
General Adult Size (Length):
40mm to 62mm
(1.57in to 2.44in)
Identifying Colors: brown; black
North American reach includes (may not be limited to): Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
Category: True Bug
Common Name: Giant Water Bug
Scientific Name: (Lethocerus americanus)
 Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Belostomatidae
Genus: Lethocerus
Species: americanus
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