A study by entomologists from Bulgaria and Russia provides new interesting information on the life habits and the distribution of the giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis, including a unique footage of bizarre hunting practices of this species.

The giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis is the largest European true bug and the largest European water insect. Lethocerus patruelis is a member of the family Belostomatidae (known as electric light bugs, toe biters), the subfamily Lethocerinae.

The adults of Lethocerus patruelis measure up to 8 cm in length, and the largest representatives of the same family are even bigger – up to almost 12 cm.

Lethocerus patruelis occurs in numerous countries including Turkey, Balkan Peninsula countries, Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

These bugs are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. When they strike, they inject strong digestive saliva, sucking out the liquefied remains to feed. Their bite is considered one of the most painful that can be ever inflicted by any insect but it is of no medical significance.

Dr Snejana Grozeva from the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research in Sofia, Bulgaria, with colleagues studied the karyotype and meiosis in Lethocerus patruelis males. Their findings appear in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

They also had the unique chance to record on video the vicious hunting practice of Lethocerus patruelis.

In the recorded material, a giant water bug larva uses the stems of a water plant to stalk and ambush its unsuspicious pray. The larva can be seen storming from its cover and catching and injecting saliva into a small fish.

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Bibliographic information: Grozeva S et al. 2013. Sex chromosome pre-reduction in male meiosis of Lethocerus patruelis (Stål, 1854) (Heteroptera, Belostomatidae) with some notes on the distribution of the species. ZooKeys 319: 119; doi: 10.3897/zookeys.319.4384