Creepy Bug ID

[elpezpr]

Hi. This guy "attacked" me and my friend while we were jamming the other night. My friend killed him. Suddenly 4 more appear and start harassing us. They fly pretty fast and are a bit unpredictable because they hover, they dash, hover, dash... you get it. Funny thing is one of them started what looked like humping my gig bag. The front "legs" open up and it looks like a claw.







Any experts?

[JimB52]

Dayum. I used to want to visit Puerto Rico.
I think that's the same type of bug from the movie 'Mimic'.

[popinfresh]

I think we'd still call that a fly back home in Aus

[MatticusMania]

Def. not your typical North American Housefly. Maybe a Cicada or something like that?

[elpezpr]

Originally Posted by popinfresh

I think we'd still call that a fly back home in Aus

LOL: D

[elpezpr]

I think it is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_water_bug

http://www.eduwebs.org/bugs/giant_water_bug.htm

[Nyarlathotep]

Creepy indeed

[lunarpollen]

That looks like one of the flying genera of giant water bug. You definitely don't want to get bitten by one. They won't go out of their way to chase and bite you (i.e., they don't hunt mammals for blood), but they will bite if you try and pick one up, or dangle your toes in the water near one, or somehow otherwise tangle with one. EXTREMELY painful bite, will swell up your entire hand or foot for a couple weeks. These things generally wait in the water and ambush prey like fish, frogs, small birds, etc. They grab on to their prey and inject enzymes in which dissolve the prey, and the bugs just suck out the prey's liquified insides, leaving a deflated bag of remains.

[Jerose]

Somewhere in the world there are two singing Asian twins who have it out for you. They obviously sent Mothra to do their bidding.

[elpezpr]

Originally Posted by Jerose

Somewhere in the world there are two singing Asian twins who have it out for you. They obviously sent Mothra to do their bidding.

LOL

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Def. not your typical North American Housefly. Maybe a Cicada or something like that?

I was thinking cicada also. That doesnt look like a normal cicada, but he is in Puerto Rico!

[elpezpr]

I'm pretty sure it's the water bug. I've looked at lots of photos and it looks like it. There is a nearby stream so it makes sense.

[elgecko]

How about this one from the Mojave Desert of California? He wasn't really creep...kinda cool actually. He was drunk on pollen and had no problem letting me get inches from him to get this macro shot.

[elpezpr]

Very Cool. ^^^

[MakiSupaStar]

Found this guy in the plants outside my house the other day. Snapped this off with my iPhone.

[two fingers]

Dang. That thing looks like a small BAT!

[CrispyDelicious]

I found this one in my walk-in closet:

[txbasschik]

That's a giant water bug. I know, because I was once assaulted by one. I had an apartment near Bull Creek, in Austin, that had wood decking, and lots of wooded creek bottom around it.

The thing was longer than my middle finger, and when he landed on the back of my counch, I felt a "thud"!

I jumped up, and he flew at me, and I chased him with a broom, and then he chased me, and he escaped out the dryer vent.

I put up "Wanted, Dead or Alive" posters.

Cherie

[L-A]

Ah! I remember one of those landed on my head when I was a kid. I thought it was my brother slapping me, so I grabbed the "hand" and discovered it wasn't quite what I expected.

[txbasschik]

My husband laughs at me because, although I am calm around every other bug, a big water bug will wig me right out. I go into full-on attack mode. He just doesn't understand! I gotta git that sucker 'fore he gits me!!!

Cherie