Giant water bugs catch snakes eating meat

A Japanese scientist was fortunate to capture rare scenes of a giant water bug catching snakes and eating baby turtles.

Giant water beetles eat baby turtles. Photo: BBC

It has long been known that large beetles of the Lethocerinae family attack small vertebrates including fish and frogs to eat meat. However, unlike the later insects that often become prey of reptiles, scientists have discovered a special bug that feeds on snakes and turtles.

According to the BBC news agency, biologist Dr. Shin-ya Ohba recorded unusual behavior at night during sampling in western Hyogo, central Japan. Writing in the journal Science of Insects, Dr. Ohba described observing a Kirkaldyia deyrolli eating a Reeve turtle in a ditch next to a rice field. The giant water bug used its front legs to grasp the turtle, stabbing its syringe-like beak into the prey's neck to beat the cup.

Studies show that giant water bugs often only attack mobile prey. Therefore, it is likely that the insect observed by Dr. Ohba caught and killed the baby turtle before eating it.

. and attacked the whole snake. Photo: BBC

Mr. Ohba also took pictures of giant water beetles eating snake meat in the past.

" It is thought that the bugs of Lethocerinae depend on fish and frogs. Although eating turtles and snakes is rare in natural conditions, the new evidence has surprised the naturalists by shows the voracious habits of this insect, " said Dr. Ohba. According to him, evidence of reptile beetles has raised skepticism about earlier views on predator relationships - prey in freshwater environments.

Kirkaldyia deyrolli bugs grow naturally in Japan, where they are often found in rice fields and eat mainly small fish and frogs. The Japan Environmental Protection Agency has listed the organism as a threat after a serious decline in the number of species over the past 40 years due to loss of habitat and water pollution.

Giant water beetles of the Lethocerinae family can grow up to 15cm in length. They are nocturnal animals, can fly and rely on the full moon light to migrate. The weapon of this creature is the venom-containing bite that they use to defeat the prey. There are some cases of water bugs that bite people, causing pain that can last for many hours.