What Do Water Bugs Look Like?

Life is never quite the same once folks catch a glimpse of the water bug. Found around bright lights, still waters and dank basements, the water bug is well-known for scaring the heck out of people. They are also large enough to be a bird and powerful enough, at least where their prey is concerned, to be a plane. In reality, the water bug is just a very big, hardy insect that lives for about a year and is hard to kill with a simple swat of the hand.

Identification

The massive size of the water bug will usually give it away. The giant variety of this brown or blackish insect can grow up to four inches long. Even the smaller varieties grow up to an inch in length.
Another trait that makes water bugs stand out include their two front legs which reach around like little pincers to grab and stab prey.
The underside of the bug's head will have a small beak and sharp, pointed mouth parts, according to the site EduWebs.org.
The site points out one more distinguishing trait, the water bug's wings, which overlap at the abdomen to form an "X."

Features

The thick shell of a skeleton, that resembles a little plate of armor, is the water bug's most striking feature.
The critters are also equipped with short breathing tubes, not unlike a snorkel used by humans, and six thick fat and feisty legs. Their front legs are the most powerful of the six, the site EduWebs.org explains, and are used to grab onto their prey of salamanders, frogs and any fish unlucky enough to swim by this armored predator.
Once the prey is in hand, the water bugs use their sharp beaks to stab the captive and inject it with an enzyme that liquefies it, the site said. The water bugs then slurp up their meal.

Geography

Water bugs, as the name implies, are generally found near water sources. This includes ponds, streams and even inside basements where it's dark and damp. They thrive in freshwater, not salty ocean runoffs, and prefer water where plants are growing so they can hang onto the plant and bob near the surface, according to the Web site EduWebs.org.
Their natural habitat is the northern United States and Canada although, like any insect, they can get stuck in crates, barrels or suitcases and travel.

Misconceptions

The water bug is often thought to be a giant cockroach or even a beetle, but it is of an entirely different species than either of them. One of the easiest ways to differentiate between the three without getting too close is by looking at the water bug's unique front legs.
Cockroaches and beetles have six legs, all of them usually pointing downward towards the ground. The water bug has a unique front pair of legs that curl upward around his head, as if he were about to don a hat a snatch a salamander. The dung beetle has similar front legs, but his body is clearly segmented and is much rounder and fatter than the water bug's.

Warning

While water bugs are not necessarily deadly to humans, they are big, fat and gory enough to really make some people nauseous and are bad for real estate. It will be hard to rent a house with a basement full of water bugs.
They also pack a nasty bite, according to EduWebs.org. The bite will not kill anyone but will induce much pain. One of the bug's nicknames is "toe biter," the site said, because of this painful fact.
Like most insects, the water bug is attracted to light and will come creeping out of the darkness to hang out near street lamps and porch bulbs.

Resources

• More on giant water bugs at EduWebs.org