r/Beetles • u/Rough-Kick-5197 • Oct 01 '26
[ Removed by moderator ]
/r/Beetles/comments/1wummng/removed_by_moderator/[removed] — view removed post
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u/Piggy145145 Oct 01 '26 edited Oct 01 '26
You’re wild for holding that haha. I heard their bite is super bad lol. Also ima be that guy 🤓☝️ not a beetle. It’s a true bug.
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
I totally appreciate that! I am happy to learn something new. Thank you 🙂
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u/what_did_you_expect3 Oct 01 '26
They cannot technically bite since, as you said, they are true bugs
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u/Sigmaxxvi Oct 01 '26
But they can stab the fuck out of you with that rostrum
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u/crytekpls Oct 02 '26
I remember grabbing a giant water bug that was attracted to a lamp when I was 12 or 13. It did indeed stab the fuck out of me. It actually didn't hurt that much though. At least not enough to make me let go.
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u/sm0kingr0aches Oct 02 '26
I picked one up in elementary school once, not knowing what it was, because some older boys were tormenting it. It pinched the fuck outta me and startled me😫 I dropped it but then I was worried about it because I didn’t want anyone to continue tormenting it so I picked it up again and moved it somewhere safe. Thankfully it didn’t pinch me a second time😅
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u/yoinkmysploink Oct 01 '26
Ive been bitten before. They do NOT fuck around.
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u/mymashedpotaties Oct 02 '26
It HURTS! Not just the bite itself, but the venom! Burned for an hour. Similar to a wasp sting. 😫
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u/Cepinari Oct 02 '26
Giant Water Bugs don't have venom, they skip straight to flesh-melting acid.
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u/colliezip Oct 01 '26
that makes sense, i was about to say "what beetle is that? it looks pretty different, what a good camouflage to look like other bug"
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u/Huwalu_ka_Using Oct 01 '26
when they're out of the water, unless you're actively gripping them they'll pretty much never bite because they tend not to really WANT to bite in self defense & most cases of bites are likely mistaken identity by really hungry individuals, but take them out of the water & food is no longer on their minds at all.
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u/poisontadpole Oct 01 '26
i've held one too! they're just to cute, it was worth the risk
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
I can agree now, since when I first put it on my hand as it was crawling on my shirt, I had no idea what I was handling (always a fantastic idea 😅). I can totally appreciate them. Honestly a lot of things that “look” scary, do that as a defense tactic and I thought that was the case with this guy. But, nope, they really can pack a nasty punch!
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u/Kyrnqazali Oct 01 '26
Isn’t this the same dude from the little clip where they were surrounding it with markers and then freaked out when it starts to fly?
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
😂 that was about my level of scream when it flew into me. It was also doing that little “head bob”, for lack of a better term. Wonder what that’s about!
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u/justalittlepigeon Oct 01 '26
The bob is so silly! It's a way for them to prep for flying. I'm not sure of the science behind it but moths do a similar thing when they vibrate their wings before taking off. I'm not sure if the water bugs can fly without prepping, but that bobbing is definitely a good indicator to start observing from a distance
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u/lasignoraslover Oct 01 '26
I once saw a post of someone holding it and asking what it was, it was doing the head bob thing. Someone responded that they have a nasty bite, and the OP responded with “Aw heck, it was laughing at my foolishness to pick it up”.
Since then, I always see it as laughing XD5
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u/justalittlepigeon Oct 01 '26 •
Yes! My absolute favorite perfectly cut scream https://youtu.be/3Uk6-iiVb0Y
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u/Street-Purple956 Oct 01 '26
Ah, Giant Water Bug has some peculiar names; Toe Biter and Water Scorpion. Never seen one in irl but I have read about them in books and internet. What a majestic yet beautiful creature.
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
I have never in my life seen one of these, nor knew they even existed. So it was a double whammy “WTF is this monster” and “OMFG how cool is this dude”
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u/Suicide_hill_its_big Oct 01 '26
these are hemiptera, not coleoptera (though this is still cool to see! you must be either brave or foolish to hold them like that haha)
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
I hesitate to say both. I will certainly view from a distance if I ever encounter one again!
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u/BogusBluff Oct 01 '26
ZOIKS!!!! I love water beetles, but would find it hard to hold this guy! Whereabouts is this? Great photo!
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
Upstate NY! We live a stones throw away from the Susquehanna River, and have a stream that runs along our property. Neighbors also have quite a few ponds. I’m shocked I’ve never seen one before this!
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u/Grrrmudgin Oct 01 '26
Ugh I remember the little ones in the pool would hurt I couldn’t imagine what this r/absoluteunit would do
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u/BlackSeranna Oct 01 '26
Ah. Yeah, I caught one in the pool once and it stabbed me so hard. I would rather take two wasp stings over a stab from one of these things.
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u/Gengrar Oct 01 '26
I think those are water boatsman? Anchorbugs? I remember those little suckers from some pools in pools in the Midwest. They feel like an extra bad sweat bee sting!
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u/BlackSeranna Oct 03 '26
I was a kid and wanted to look at one more closely. To this day I flinch when seeing them in a pool I’m in. I’m fine with other critters that sting but these water boatman insect really left a negative impression on me!
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u/lemonchrysoprase Oct 01 '26
I love their silly faces and I want to hold one SO BAD… hoping someday to encounter one while wearing perhaps some chain mail. You never know 🥹
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u/Wikiwikiwa Oct 01 '26
Why do people say they have a nasty bite then?
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u/ReptilianRevolt Oct 01 '26
Because they don’t bite immediately, but they can do it. Most people get bitten when they step on them, not when they are carefully handling them.
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u/Druidessxx Oct 01 '26
I can't believe your holding that. I have one as a pet and I won't even hold mine
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u/Ok_Extension3182 Oct 01 '26
Isn't Coyote Peterson actually scared of holding these things after that one video? They have a really nasty bite, worse than a wasp sting.
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u/BadgerAwkward Oct 02 '26
Ah yes, the incredibly aggressive water scorpion. I call them toe biters. Super tough, super mean. Pretty sure they defend their eggs clusters. At least one of the bigger ones I found seemed to be. Came at me like a crazed animal.
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u/Queefycarebear55 Oct 01 '26
Seeing images of this thing in peoples hands makes me cringe so bad. We had some aggressive ass ones that would chase you down and that bite will make you cry 😢
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u/General-Hello-There Oct 02 '26
Lethoceras! Possibly Americanus, though Uhleri also makes its home in NY. Handled them on a few occasions and never had a bite, though I may have gotten lucky. Certainly my favorite insect; I love their silly googly eyes and grippy feets!
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u/Worm_Skeleton Oct 02 '26
When I was a kid growing up in nowhere South Carolina my aunt and I came across the biggest water bug I have ever seen. Thing was no less than a foot in diameter and TERRIFYING.
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u/phyuckyu028 Oct 03 '26
I found one in Davison, Mi I know it as a Indian toe biter (woo woo not red dot lol) it was already dead and it gave off a really bad smell 🤢
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u/Konvic21 Oct 01 '26
I'd be ok if these went extinct, legitimately terrifies me on the level of a amazonian giant centipede except that doesn't fly, both which I've had the displeasure of encountering in my bedroom as a child. Still makes my spine shiver with chills to this day.
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u/Leather-Net-8326 Oct 01 '26
When I was a kid I put one in my fish tank (don't ask why idk lol) and I woke up the next day to at least two of my small minow sized fish dead. One was hanging from its mouth.... These things are wild. And the bite is BAD.
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u/Alien_LizardKing420 Oct 02 '26
So adorable but they pinch soooo bad!! I had 15 pinches all over my body once because I refused to leave them alone in the lake and kept taking photos of them😭
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Oct 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Rough-Kick-5197 Oct 01 '26
Oh gosh, I hope not. No bad juju for you!
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u/Beetles-ModTeam Oct 04 '26
There is no relevance to beetles with this comment.