Giant water bugs eat turtles, ducklings, and even snakes
A fearless aquatic predator emerges from a new study compiling decades of research.
Giant water bugs are voracious predators that take down everything from ducklings to venomous snakes, according to a new study that brings together decades of research on the aquatic insects.
They’re “lie-and-wait predators,” says Charles Swart, a senior lecturer at Trinity College in Connecticut who has studied giant water bugs.
“They just take up a position holding onto a plant in the water, and anything that moves in front of them, they’ll grab it and try to eat it.” (See more photos of freshwater insects.)
The research, published in March in the journal Entomological Science, takes a closer look at the ecology of giant water bugs, which are found nearly the world over and comprise some 150 known species.
