Don't Go Chasing Water Bugs | Deep Look

Giant water bugs — aka "toe-biters" — pack one of the most painful bites of any insect. But they make the best dads ever. Rather than leaving the survival of his eggs to chance, dad will haul them around piggyback style for weeks, until they hatch right off his back.

SUBSCRIBE to Deep Look! https://www.youtube.com/user/kqeddeep...
Please join our community on Patreon!   / deeplook  

DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.

---

This summer, as you cool your bare feet in a stream somewhere in California – or almost anywhere in the world, really – you might feel a painful nip. The menacing culprit: a giant water bug.

Lurking just below the surface of that flowing creek or refreshing pond, these bugs resemble enormous aquatic ticks, with googly eyes and praying mantis arms. And although they won’t seek you out for an attack, they also won’t hesitate to take a defensive bite if you get too close, earning them the nickname “toe-biters.”

They puncture the skin with dagger-like mouth parts and have a bite known as one of the most painful of any insect – sharp and stinging like a wasp’s. You may not even get a chance to spot the offending insect before it dashes off, but you’ll undoubtedly be left with an indelible impression. And a swollen, throbbing toe.

--- What do giant water bugs eat?
Giant water bugs are voracious predators that will take down any small animals they can subdue. They have a long needle-like mouth and their bite contains a cocktail of chemicals that paralyzes their prey and digests their tissues. Then the giant water bugs slurp up its meal. Giant water bugs hunt other insects, tadpoles and frogs, small fish, and even the occasional duckling.

--- How do giant water bugs breathe?
Giant water bugs spend their lives in freshwater, but they must return to the surface to breathe. Giant water bugs have two little air straps that protrude from their backside. The air straps work like a snorkel to pull air into a bubble trapped under their wings.

--- What do giant water bugs taste like?
In Southeast Asia giant water bugs are sometimes eaten as a regional delicacy. Like other arthropods, giant water bugs are said to taste a bit like shrimp with a slightly sweet flavor.

---+ Read the entire article on KQED Science:

https://www.kqed.org/science/1979474/...

---+ More great Deep Look episodes:

You Can’t Unsee the Assassin Bug’s Dirty Work | Deep Look
   • You Can’t Unsee the Assassin Bug’s Di...  

Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your Rice | Deep Look
   • Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your Ri...  

Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones | Deep Look
   • Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an ...  


---+ Shoutout!

🏆Congratulations🏆 to the following fans on our Deep Look Community Tab for correctly answering our GIF Challenge!

AA-Ron

---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)!

Jessica
Burt Humburg
Karen Reynolds
Daisuke Goto
Allison & Maka Masuda
David Deshpande
Wild Turkey
Chris B Emrick
J8Zenith
Tianxing Wang
Companion Cube
Mark Jobes
Blanca Vides
Kevin Judge
Jana Brenning
monoirre
Aurora
Anastasia Grinkevic
Supernovabetty
Titania Juang
Roberta K Wright
KW
Kimberly Hall
Syniurge
El Samuels
Carrie Mukaida
Jellyman
Nicky Orino
Cristen Rasmussen
Kristy Freeman
Mehdi
Laurel Przybylski
SueEllen McCann
Cindy McGill
Shonara Rivas
Kelly Hong
Louis O'Neill
Sonia Tanlimco
Nicolette Ray
Misia Clive
Jeremiah Sullivan
Joshua Murallon Robertson
Caitlin McDonough
Shelley Pearson Cranshaw
Noreen Herrington
Wade Tregaskis
吳怡彰
Shonara Rivas
Elizabeth Ann Ditz
Silvan
Delphine Tseng
TierZoo
Levi Cai
Kenneth Fyrsterling


---+ Follow Deep Look and KQED Science on social:

  / deeplookofficial  
  / deeplook  
Instagram:   / kqedscience  
Twitter:   / kqedscience  


---+ About KQED

KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, CA, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, Radio and web media.

Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.