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bug question

pikeal1pikeal1 Member Posts: 2,707
edited June 2002 in General Discussion
Ok, I went out the Indian Bingo hall about 20 minutes west of Miami, and in the parking lot was a plague of huge insects i've never seen before. Thousands of them all over the ground and flying around in the lights. They were about two inches long, about an inch wide and grey in color. They have what looks like pincers sticking out of their heads. They kinda look like a cockroach on steroids. When they get mad they stand up on their four back legs and run like hell.

Can anyone tell me what the hell these things are. I've tried to find them on the net, but to no avail.

Alex
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Comments

  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Kind of sounds like they may have been Belostomatids or Giant Water Bugs. They are predatory on aquatic animals and insects, and inoffensive to humans unless disturbed. The can inflict a painful bite with piercing/sucking mouthparts.
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  • pikeal1pikeal1 Member Posts: 2,707
    edited November -1
    just saw a pic of the one you mentioned Hedog...it looks similar to that, but they have these two things that stick out of the front of their heads...it looks like antennae but they act like a big claw. Thanks for the quick reply...this has been driving me mad for a couple of days now.
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  • Gordian BladeGordian Blade Member Posts: 1,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    There was a movie about those bugs. They can generate lightning from their front pincers/antennae and start fires, burn up cars, explode natural gas lines, that kind of stuff. They are organized to take revenge on humans for disturbing their habitat. It was all in the movie, it must be true.
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don't be silly Blade, they only do that in Japan and Florida, no problem for us.

    Pike the giant water bugs do have the first pair of legs adapted to grasp prey, so you might get one in a jar and compare to the photos in your guide. The only other things with similar forelegs in your area are scorpions, whip scorpions, water scorpions (kind of looks like an aquatic walking stick with preying mantis forelegs, and preying mantises. Solpugids also do, but none in Florida get that large. Belostomatids do not run particularly well, though, so it may not be a water bug. If you could get a good photo, I could probably tell you what it is.
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Don't be silly Blade, they only do that in Japan and Florida, no problem for us.

    Pike the giant water bugs do have the first pair of legs adapted to grasp prey, so you might get one in a jar and compare to the photos in your guide. The only other things with similar forelegs in your area are scorpions, whip scorpions, water scorpions (kind of looks like an aquatic walking stick with preying mantis forelegs, and preying mantises. Solpugids also do, but none in Florida get that large. Belostomatids do not run particularly well, though, so it may not be a water bug. If you could get a good photo, I could probably tell you what it is.
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  • pikeal1pikeal1 Member Posts: 2,707
    edited November -1
    Hedog...you are absolutely correct. The one picture i saw first didn't do it justice. I guess like all bugs, there are a few different species. These things are nasty and from what I read they hurt like hell if they bite. Here's what it looks like



    Hedog..thanks for the info.
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  • concealedG36concealedG36 Member Posts: 3,566 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Yet another reason why I like the North. We don't have too many mouse-sized bugs!



    Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals
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  • pikeal1pikeal1 Member Posts: 2,707
    edited November -1
    G36...the bugs up north wear suits and run the city.
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  • wundudneewundudnee Member Posts: 6,108 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    It sounds like they may be Dobsons flys. They are large nocturnal bugs with clear wings and horn like pincers sometimes two inches long. They are the adult stage of Helgramites which live in streams under rocks. They also have pincers but not as large as the adults. They are mean looking little critters.

    ....................
    AD ASTRA PER ASPERA

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  • Big Sky RedneckBig Sky Redneck Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    G36, in Texas they have to buy license, shots and name their cockroaches. I was at the T/A truckstop in Mesquite TX once and saw a cockroach crawl up on a table and carry off an entire plate of spaghetti.
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  • alledanalledan Member Posts: 19,541
    edited November -1
    Sounds like the Klintons family reunion. The ones running backward had just been caught having sex with a family member.

    Never ask why but only the value of.
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wow, it is sure getting deep around here! I always thought it poetic justice that of the 57 species of cockroach found in the United States, 52 species are only found in Texas. Sorry Varmit Hunter!

    Pikeal1- yep that is him. I have been shy about being bitten, but they sure have the equipment and it is indeed said to be painful.
    Sometimes you will see males with eggs on their wings, laid there by the females for protection. They usually do not leave the water then though.

    Sorry guys, most of the North has these guys as well, but not in the numbers the subtropics have.
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  • Gordian BladeGordian Blade Member Posts: 1,202 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    He Dog, I'm pretty sure my son (who is going to be studying wildlife biology in college next year -- proud dad had to get that in) caught one of those in our backyard in upstate New York. You sure they only shoot lightning in Japan and Florida?
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  • He DogHe Dog Member Posts: 51,593 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Gospel, Blade, I promise, but they bite like the devil everywhere if carelessly handled! My congrats to you and your son! As you might guess, I approve, but warn him there is no money in it so he better love doing it. If he plans to go into any research, she should take all the statistics and methodology he can get. He should strongly consider going for a Ph.D. to maximize his career choices and to be sure he is not on the end of a shovel or in a Smokey Bear hat unless he chooses to be. Best wishes to him!
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  • the loveable rat...the loveable rat... Member Posts: 969 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    dobson fly....i remember them well...i was fishing once, and something crashed into a bush next to me...a bird? i thought...lookit that weird bug, as i went to pick it up, grasping it on the back...the fu@king thing bent its head backward and bit me hard enough to bleed and scare the crapoutta me(i scare easy). so i made a hatpin out of him...
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