Comments on: Monster bug

By: Nothing to do with fish « the Marvelous in nature

Nothing to do with fish « the Marvelous in nature — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:36:44 +0000

[...] observed in my post about the Giant Water Bug, the lights don’t attract just moths. You can get a good variety of insects, including many [...]

By: themarvelousinnature

themarvelousinnature — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:42:15 +0000

Thanks for the great info, Dave! Whoda thunk they’d make such good eating? It’s funny how recent culture has turned insects into such a distasteful food item, when really there’s nothing wrong with them. Next time I’m in Rhode Island I’ll have to check your place out!

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:06:02 +0000

Greetings,

Yes, these insects are definitely edible. Both Lethocerus [the genus to which your specimen likely belongs] and the other Belostomatids are avidly consumed in several Southeast Asian countries; I also serve them to the public in Rhode Island and elsewhere as part of the insect tasting events I run through my company, Sunrise Land Shrimp — because insects are the shrimp of the land. Or water, in the case of this particular bug.

Unlike other insects that are eaten whole, this one I filet; there’s actual meat in the thorax, the muscles that power the wings. The meat is surprisingly fruity and smells sort of herby/perfumy, and people are shocked at the taste of it! I get mine frozen from Thai markets here in Providence, but I’ve also sampled wild-caught specimens from Louisiana.

Anyone interested in more details is invited to contact me.

By: themarvelousinnature

themarvelousinnature — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:16:09 +0000

Great pun, Hugh! It’s funny I’ve never encountered them before, I read that they’re often seen near streetlights, too.

Ruth: It certainly does make me think about all those times I waded around in the muck as a kid. Apparently there’s leeches in our ponds, too, and I never happened to encounter those, either.

Thanks, Lavenderbay. I do try to write in a sort of photo-journalistic fashion that would keep someone reading to the end of the post - or that’s the hope. :)

Tom and Nina: Yes, one of the species does actually lay its eggs on the back of the male, who helps to aerate them by water passing over them while he swims. The other species lays its eggs on vegetation at the water’s edge (may or may not be submerged). I’m not sure which species this one is.

By: Nina

Nina — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:58:38 +0000

I was wondering about their young, too.
I know I’ve seen them carrying eggs on their bodies–could those small things be young?

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:21:15 +0000

Very cool, I’ve never seen one flying but have caught them in pools! Sea World Ohio (now defunct) used to have a tank of dozens of these creatures, and I seem to remember that they raised young nymphs on their backs!

Tom

By: lavenderbay

lavenderbay — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:54:46 +0000

I really like how your close-ups keep getting closer, and your text answers the viewer’s “Hey, what’re those red thingies on the edge of its carapace?” questions.

By: Ruth

Ruth — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:19:18 +0000

I wouldn’t want to step on that while barefoot. Your macro pictures are excellent. Gives a different perspective to something most people would dismiss as gross. I truly would have thought it was a cockroach.

By: Hugh

Hugh — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:15:40 +0000

It’s not a moth– it’s a behemoth!

Nice, detailed pictures.

I have a few times found them dead in parking lots. Apparently they mistake car windows for standing water.