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! Please join our community on Patreon! 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: --- More great Deep Look episodes: You Can’t Unsee the Assassin Bug’s Dirty Work | Deep Look Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your Rice | Deep Look Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones | Deep Look --- 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 Instagram: Twitter: --- 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.