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Index of Subjects >A friend of mine who fishes lobsters in the Bras D'Or had one come up in a trap a few days ago and asked for identification. Are they common in salt water as well? For a few years, I've been working on an aquatic insect project. Today my > student Mallory and I caught a number of Giant Water Bugs ( > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethocerus_americanus) and larger Predaceous > Diving Beetles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predaceous_diving_beetle). > The > bugs are also known as "toe-biters". I've never heard of any toes getting > bit, they normally feed on tadpoles, salamanders and more. > > Mallory and I brought the live insects back to the lab and were working > with one of the bugs...they grab onto you with their raptorial claws, > which > is mildly annoying, but then I saw the proboscis start to move - it > pierced > me before I knew it, and the pain it caused was akin to a mild or moderate > bee sting. And it lasted for a good five minutes. Years ago, I picked a > backswimmer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backswimmer) out of a net and > received a sharp bite (again, more of a piercing)...the bug bite today was > very similar to that. The two insects are both true bugs, but I've really > no idea if the pain-causing agent is the same in both. > > Randy > _________________________________ > RF Lauff > Way in the boonies of > Antigonish County, NS. >
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