| Archive for scabies.myfreeforum.org Southern California Arachnid, Bug, Invertebrate, Entomological Society |
| noexcuse4you |
Giant Water BugI just read Andrews thread on Giant Water Bugs and thought I'd share that I'm trying my luck with them. I'm keeping one in a medium sized KK filled with water with a fake plant in it. Its eaten a roach so far (girlfriend won't let me feed it fish). I think they're pretty neat bugs!Its hard to take pics through the water, but here it is. 
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| Celeste |
Very cool! Looks almost like some kind of aquatic mantis! Are they related to mantids?
-- Celeste |
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| noexcuse4you |
They aren't related to mantids. They're closer to assassins since they are a true bug. Their feeding habits are interesting! Instead of just grabbing onto their prey and just eating it, they first grab it, bite it, wait for it to die and sink to the bottom, then go down there and start feeding! Its bite can kill a roach in a matter of seconds! I'd sure hate to be bitten by one... Here's one feeding on a roach.
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| Krawll |
Celeste is right, it realy does look like some kinda Aquatic Mantid :-)
Very nice pet you have there :-) |
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| Pulk |
Abedus or Belostoma sp.
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| noexcuse4you |
My water bug molted on Saturday morning. I believe it is mature now since it has wings.
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| BugMom |
I've been wanting to try those. I've heard they fly, though, and my husband isn't crazy about the idea of a big bitey flying thing potentially escaping in the house. Have you seen it fly? | ||||
| noexcuse4you |
I haven't seen them fly. I keep them in a KK with the lid on just in case! 
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| Celeste |
Yeah -- or if you keep them in an aquarium, just put a screen top on it. | ||||
| Steven |
10x14x3 clear plastic tray like "enclosure". No lid needed all this time ...bugs caught on first or 2nd SCABIES hike!! I keep 3/4" water in there ...or so. No substrate ..just a few stones and a couple loose roots. | ||||
| BugMom |
How many do you keep together? Are they cannibalistic at all? | ||||
| noexcuse4you |
Don't know why, don't know how, but I woke up this morning and my water bug was dead. Poor little guy. RIP. | ||||
| BugMom |
Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that! | ||||
| Steven |
I had 3...peter, paul & mary. But, my female died when the water got really low while I was away (darn humidity dropped to the lower teens and just sucked the water dry) ...she got flipped over and it looked like she just couldnt get flipped back...like a screwed turtle.
They constantly produced young but I was never able to raise the young past 3rd or 4th molt. 1 got to about 3/4" and just freakin died. I gave it many honest attempts...trying different things. From what Ive gathered ...read, observed, etc. Strong running water is the key when it comes to raising the young.
Adults do great together, but subs and young (even just a molt away from mature) will get munched by adults or siblings. |
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| Pulk |
steven's thread
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=90127 |
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| Celeste |
Sorry to hear, Kyle. Do we know how long they typically live after their adult molt? (Maybe they normally just reproduce and die after their adult molt).
I hope you can find another one and try again sometime. That was a cool bug! -- C |
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| Pulk |
this one has been alive for 39 days so far | ||||
| WBurke17 |
By wburke17 at 2007-06-11 
By wburke17 at 2007-06-11 |
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| elportoed |
That's so cool, I didn't realize that they are common here too.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/21/Tampabay/The_invasion_of_the_g.shtml I was raised in Thailand, and I have eaten them. They are actually very good steamed (female). The male are aromatic (to the Thais at least), so they crush them up and use them to flavor up a type of chili sauce. Should anyone brave enough to try, see the below http://www.typhoon.biz/dinnermenu.html |
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| Celeste |
O.K., now I have to tell my dad's "kochua" story. (Forgive me if I've told this one on scabies before).
My dad was in the Navy, and was stationed in Vietnam around 1966. While he was in Saigon he used to eat in a little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. One of his favorite dishes there included a spicy fermented dipping sauce. The restaurant owner didn't speak English, and my dad didn't speak much Vietnamese, but the owner managed to communicate that the dipping sauce that my dad loved so much was made with "kochua". One day not long thereafter, my dad was walking through the lobby of a hotel when a bunch of porters and bellhops ran through the lobby chasing a large flying water beetle and yelling "Kochua! Kochua!" ;-) (Apparently, Kochua brought a pretty penny in the marketplace if they could catch it!) I would love to try the ones at Typhoon, but they are stuffed with Chicken and I don't eat Chicken... I wonder if they would make them without the Chicken? -- Celeste |
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| Steven |
Fantastic pics btw.
My last one died ...it was either Peter or Paul (never could tell the 2 apart). |
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| Habibi18 |
*Hugs* I have no idea on why that could be but may he R.I.P 
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| James H |
I was luck enough to collect 3 last summer. One larger one and two juveniles. By the time I got home the larger one had killed the two smaller ones. I still have the larger one in a 10 gallon ¾ full of water, with some large rocks, live plants, and sticks and large pebble gravel across the bottom. I have it in with 5 or 6 sunburst diving beetles (Thermonectus mamoratus) and some small leaches that I have found.
With the pond grouping that tank I feed some frozen bloodworms, and freeze dried krill. I also collect damselfly larva and other aquatic inverts that never seem last long. If I don’t feed them for a couple days I come back and I am always missing a couple bugs. This summer I am going to try to set up my 25 gallon tank (36x9.5x18) and put in a whole bunch of different aquatic insects and see what happens. I really want to get a nice tank of these guys and the T. mamoratus see if they will breed for continuously for me. . |
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| Steven |
The water bugs will devour all the other water insects ...anything that moves past them and if its handleable they eat. They will breed continuously but unless you have the numbers and right sex ratio your amphibian will only get occasional pig-out meals and once its full it probably wont get much of a 2nd or 3rd meal because the water bug nymphs will devour each other like some kinda sibling slaughterhouse and the adults will engorge the entire show and clean up whats left in the end. Its a seriously harsh social strategy ...once you hatch and start moving you'r food. Males will fight to protect the young on their backs but eat an occasional snack as they hatch. Catch22 for the hobbyist is...separate them and they die. Still-water kills them though adults and sometimes sub-adults do well swimmin' in shat... the young NEED running water ...cool running water..with lots of hides and holds. I believe its more than water purity though that may be a big factor. Changing water several times daily SEEMS to up the percentage of successful molts ...maybe 10% ...but it can be like a 50% death rate per molt plus mystery deaths in between for the first few and then after that you end up with one or few half inch bugs seemingly doing well then they die. (though ive had a bunch of hatchings that went extremely well first molt and somewhat ok during the 2nd) Cool running water MAY be the big factor in a couple ways at least ways that ive been pondering. ...First temp of the water of course MUST affect their growth rate/feeding ...they may be speeding their way into each molt while sitting in room temps ..stuff may need time to catch-up..synchronize. If warm water softens up the molt and attachments too fast it may be pressing the issue and there is no helping force. Running water must put forces against the molt...it may help physically with the molting process and/or it may also stimulate the process. Also as the cool water slows their need to feed the running water has a chance to spread them around into separate pools downstream amping the survival rate ..most likely never high, but just enough. ...anyway..who knows..? The bugs know ..maybe. |
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| Herpetologyfrk |
I would love to try keeping these. Where would I go about finding a couple? | ||||
| Steven |
Local rivers. I know where there is a huge population (not that its so easy to find the adults though ...at least during most of the year) ....and like a moron I cant remember the name of the place.  But its close by me and its a definite near future hike/hunt for me ...if someone wanted to go... 
I would suspect that ANY local river with cooler, fast(ish) flowing water will have them. I also suspect that if there is a large salamander/frog population in a river.. there'l be more bugs. Tadpoles GOTTA be their main prey source. |
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| WBurke17 |
Azusa Canyons, East Fork I have found them in good numbers. | ||||
| Rosey |
Sorry to dig up an old-ish thread but I think these guys are awesome! I've never tried keeping them though!
We have Lethocerus americanus in Alberta and they're pretty common. Normally you don't see them for most of the open water season but then get a population explosion of adults in the fall (September). I've found them in rivers and in emergent vegetation along the shores of smaller lakes. Just a cautionary note about keeping them... The adults do disperse, a lot of the time I'll see these guys flying around by my cabin and in the city around streetlights (they're attracted to light). I've known a few people who have been "bitten" by them and apparently it hurts. A lot. They inject a venom that contains tissue-dissolving enzymes and then suck up the liquid, so some sort of lid or screen would be a pretty good idea if you're keeping them inside your house! |
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| Steven |
Ive played physically with mine alot ...they do grab, but Ive seen nil attempts to actually "bite"...or poke/feed. But...the grab can feel like somethings biting you. Lethocerus americanus ...if u ever desire working out a trade or whatnot ...collect a bunch and im sure others here including myself would most likely be interested.
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| Rosey |
Hmmmmm... Do you know what species you've played with? Perhaps L. americanus is more aggressive... Or maybe the ones in Cali are more laid back! hahaha
I was the teaching assistant for an aquatic invert class last fall and my students had to prepare a museum quality specimen collection, one of my students ignored my warnings about being careful with them, picked it up and got a pretty nasty bite... He seemed like he was in agony for the rest of the collecting trip! That's the reason for my warning! Hahaha I could probably collect some but I'd have no idea how to ship them and if it would even be legal! Any ideas? |
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| Steven |
I do believe you but still question at very least the probability of being actually bitten. Had many experiences with those monster americanus toebiterandyeranus back in MN!  They were HUGE ...thats why ive wanted them ever since i started keeping bugs in a more "serious" way. And yes I would not be surprised to find that Abedus herberti tended to be a bit less into "stickin' it in" compared to other species.
Just never had americanus "bite" me, just grab me. ...and it was ALWAYS super creepy! Shipping ...not much at all (well unless...but thats no fun) is completely legal. Best discuss that stuff with membersviapm ...those that understand the laws and such what. |
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| balam |
yeah well, while you are at it you should get some of these, I mean, this MOFO can take on a piranha 
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/d...nture-water-bug-hunting-video.htm |
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| What |
I think she was referring to the fact that she is in Canada and we are in the US... 
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| Celeste |
Dang! How big are those things? |
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| balam |
Well,, I think a piranha's size varies between 6-10" for adults, given that one may assume the prey in the video to be a younger piranha, my guess, that fish must have been ~4" ????
The bug is fairly larger... maybe 5-6" ?????? The largest Giant Water Bug in the family Belostomatidae can reach 150 mm... roughly 6". So then again, this guy may have just been a massive little beast. |
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| Rosey |
Yup! Canada has all kinds of weird laws when it comes to invertebrates... |
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| Steven |
[quote="Rosey"]
Not that weird ...probably about the same as here in the US. Best discuss things like shipping in PMs with knowledgeable members ...otherwise this stuff goes on and on and becomes an issue/debate thats been beaten to death so many times before.  
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