Has anyone kept Giant water bugs?

[dtknow]

Has anyone tried keeping these or closely related in captivity before? Also, does anyone know if they are found in CA? I heard they do quite well in captivity if kept with places to climb on and fed small prey items.

By giant water bug I am referring to either Lethocercus americanus or any of the other large species. Wouldn't mind knowing a bit about water scorpions either.

 

[Leper]

Back in my old wholesale tropical fish days we used to get them in with feeder goldfish once in a while. They seemed pretty tough and they were interesting to observe but they usually ended up being a snack for something big.

 

[Wade]

You should have several species of giant water bug in CA, including Lethocercus. Annother neat genus that should be there is Abedus, which are not as big but more fun IMO. They scuttle accross submerged rocks like crabs.

Tanks should be well planted or else have some sort of submerged structure for the bugs to cling to. They should be able to stick the tip of their abdomen to the surface to breath while resting, so some sort of emergent plants or structure is best. They will feed on small fish, aquatic insects, or crickets offered from long tweezers.

There is a book availble at www.elytraandantenna.com on keeping true bugs that includes chapters on giant water bugs as well as waterscorpions. My avatar, btw, is a waterscorpion (Ranatra sp.)

Wade

 

[dtknow]

Thanks for the input both! I will be sure to keep an eye out on any feeder goldfish tanks I pass by.

Wade: I recall now finding small(about dime sized) creeping water bugs about an hour away from my home...tons of them. I got bitten too...I can only imagine what the bite from a large Lethocercus must feel like as even though they were small they packed quite a punch.

Are their any times of year when its best to look for them? I've never seen one of the water scorpions or Lethocercus though I have been out looking in water bodies for a very long time. How hard are they to spot? Any methods that might bring in some if they are around? I'm guessing they hide out in dense growths of water plants, along the bank in emergent plants, or perhaps crawling in the bottom muck. (the Abedus were under rocks in a slow moving stream which I think is a little odd).

 

[Galapoheros]

I've kept these before. The giant water bug (Lethocercus americanus) isn't real active but that is because of their "sit and wait" technique in capturing their prey. Very interesting though. Just the way they look is enough to get my interest. Your guess at finding water scorps is the way I have found them. With a wide net and getting under the veg, picking up a big pile of veg and picking through it. I've never been jabbed. I bet that REALLY hurts. I did get jabbed by the larvae of the big horse fly once. It was white with black bands. I found it in the mud by a pond. Holy moly, I mean son of a diddly...that hurt! Seems like it was 2 to 3 inches long. Pretty impressive thing. I would like to find another one. I've found insects like these (water bugs) from May to Sept. I've found most in small, temporary ponds with allot of plants that aren't more than knee deep (My experience in Tex). There was one small pond that had allot of giant water bugs in it that I seined. It was only 20 to 30 feet long and about 15 feet wide and about two feet deep at it's deepest. It was almost completely in heavy shade. Where there are tadpoles, you will probably find water bugs. So I would say May and the first week of June would be the best time. Still allot of tadpoles right now here in Tx though but not as many.

 

[Stylopidae]

Anyone have breeding info?

 

[Wade]

All the Lethocerous I've ever found have been by accident, most often attracted to lights at night (sometimes they're known as "electric light bugs"). I dip net for aquatic insects often but have never been lucky enough to to get L. americanus that way, although I get Belostoma frequently (they're like a tiny version of Abedus) that way. We don't have Abedus in the east, but I've collected them in AZ and they were easy to spot in clear mountain streams, but I also found them in murkier, slower moving creeks as well. There's also annother large genus in the US that is similar to Lethocerous, but the name escapes me at the moment. This would be great captives if they didn't have a much shorter life span.

Lethocerous have been bred, but it's not easy. They lay eggs on emergent plants, and apparently they're kind of picky about where they will lay. Abedus are much easier because the female glues the eggs to the male's back. The nymphs are highly cannibalistic and prone to molting problems, but if care is taken they're not to difficult to rear. There's more information in the book I mentioned in my previous post.

Wade

 

[Stylopidae]

Thanks for the info, Wade. I'll try keeping them individually in deli cups.

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

Wade- How are the African waterscorpions coming along these days?

 

[Wade]

The African waterscorpions are doing well, but I haven't had any luck getting them to lay eggs above the water. I think I need to work on the egg laying site. I'm a little worried that I have all females, as I've never observed any breeding and they all look the same from the ventral view.

Neat animals, though. I love the way they stretch out and play dead when picked up. I took one to a local naturalist meeting this week just to show, and it was a big hit!

Wade

 

[Elytra and Antenna]

I've tried but waterscorpions like many water bugs aren't really sexable. I've seen some printed info on sexing water bugs but it didn't pan out for Abedus or Lethocerus.

 

[Wade]

Here's a rather nice picture by LHP of a Belostomata sp. giant water bug male with eggs on his back.

Wade

 

[dtknow]

Went out to poke around yesterday in a spot where I thought water scorpions or similar were likely. Came up with tons of water boatmen, caddisfly larvae, mayfly larvae, diving beetles, a few sticklebacks, and a backswimmer...but no luck on the water scorpions.

 

[Peter_Parker]

It's... ALIVE!!!

Resurrection of an old thread! BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!..... Anyway, I just got a few really big giant water bugs (at least 2 are lethoceros, and one may be abedus), but I was just wondering if the same species can be kept together if well fed like some other true bugs like Platymeris?

 

[bugmankeith]

Do these beetles fly?

 

[Tleilaxu]

Yes the giant water bugs fly. They make somewhat interesting pets. They are HIGHLY agressive. Mine would attack me when ever I did something in its cage and their bites are painful. They eat fish and other inverts. Make sure to keep the water clean, change half once a week. Also make sure they have places to hide.

 

[Galapoheros]

I remember seeing my first Giant Water Bug when I was about 6 years old. It was dead and under a street light it had flown to at night. At the time, that was the coolest bug I'd ever seen and couldn't wait to see one that was alive! Well, it's been 35 years since then. I've seen allot of live ones. I've had the best luck finding them in small ponds that dry up, or come close to drying up in the summer. So if you can find an environment like that and have a net, you might find one. They sit and wait for prey to get close to them so they are not real active, but they are impressive enough just to look at for allot of people. I've never been bitten and I don't want to. I got nailed by one of those giant black horse fly larvae once and that was more painful than I would have ever imagined it would be. So I've really avoided those bug like mouth parts. I know they aren't the same but...man that hurt!

Ooops, I didn't realize this was a really old thread that I already posted in...sorry.

 

[Peter_Parker]

Yeah... but ummm, can they be kept communally?... And also, are there any accurate (or relatively accurate) sexing methods?

btw they are true bugs in the order hemiptera, not beetles

 

[kraken]

I would think they would eat each other...I only housed aquatic beetles singly or with prey items.I never tried housing them together but I wouldnt myself.

 

[Peter_Parker]

I suppose. I would have thought they could be kept together as long as they were well fed (like in platymeris, ranatra, nepa and those wheel bugs), but I guess just because some bugs can tolerate eachother doesn't mean that they all can. That would make captive breeding them pretty tough then, huh?