Video: Giant water beetle stalks to catch turtles, fish, snakes in the water

Giant water beetles of the family Lethocerinae, although only a maximum body length of 15cm, are voracious predators and are professional hunters. They specialize in perching on an underwater plant and lie dormant for prey. When prey appears, they grab it and eat it. Giant water bugs can hunt everything from ducklings to venomous snakes.

This brown bug hangs upside down from the trees where they are perched, and breathes through a "tube" protruding from the back. When prey approaches, water beetles use their long legs to quickly grab them and then use their dagger-like proboscis to inject digestive enzymes, possibly anesthetic chemicals, and tear their prey apart.

Video: Giant water beetle stalks to catch turtles, fish, snakes in the water Picture 1

The male giant water beetle is responsible for looking after the eggs and protecting them from predators such as ants. The female beetle, so eager to find a mate, is willing to eat another female's eggs to steal a mate, so that the male will take care of her eggs.

Water beetle pupae have a life cycle of 60 days and have bent front legs, which make them easier to catch prey. They usually hatch in the season when small prey is not abundant, so they are forced to hunt much larger prey such as tadpoles or fish.

Giant water bugs are nocturnal animals that can fly. They migrate based on the light of the full moon. The weapon that helps this creature defeat its prey is a venomous bite. There are some cases where people have been bitten by water bugs and the pain can last for hours.

Micah Soto

Update 24 July 2023