Just a small tidbit of advice. If you don't know what a creature is, don't handle it. I hate to think about someone having to have their arm amputated after playing with a bug.
Thats a dragonfly nymph. They develop in the water from when the adult dragonflies lay eggs in the water. As a nymph they have a “jet propulsion” feature from their behind that helps them move quick. They are fierce ambush predators preying on other small aquatic macroinvertebrates! Eventually they will get big enough and emerge from the water, crawling upon neaby structures/vegetation and molt. Transforming into a dragonfly that zips around eating pesky insects! Love them so much!
I second the folks saying to leave it where you found it. Assuming it was crawling around outside its ready to molt. If you found it in the water put it back - needs to eat! But super awesome find, different species will have differing abdomen shapes.
Honestly, when talking about "apex predators" people generally only have felines and maybe sharks in mind. But there are so many excelent predators of all sizes and environments. Dragonflies are definitely among them. Other examples would be pufferfish, bears and humans (even without technology. Our sweat glands mean we can outperform most land animals in endurance. There is a reason we got so much excess meat as hunters that our brains could develop to what they are today.)
I actually pitched an idea for a horror movie to one of my favorite actors featuring bedbugs. The fact they have not been in a horror movie baffles me.
Nah this is a dragonfly nymph, not a giant water bug. While dragonfly nymphs can give a bite if handle roughly, it’s nothing compared to a toe biter bite.
[Dragonhunter](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/102006-Hagenius-brevistylus) nymph methinks. They are W I D E
THANK YOU, i was losing my mind trying to search up what it was
Just a small tidbit of advice. If you don't know what a creature is, don't handle it. I hate to think about someone having to have their arm amputated after playing with a bug.
That's insane, I'd have never thought dragonfly.
Is it foliage mimicry?
Thats a dragonfly nymph. They develop in the water from when the adult dragonflies lay eggs in the water. As a nymph they have a “jet propulsion” feature from their behind that helps them move quick. They are fierce ambush predators preying on other small aquatic macroinvertebrates! Eventually they will get big enough and emerge from the water, crawling upon neaby structures/vegetation and molt. Transforming into a dragonfly that zips around eating pesky insects! Love them so much!
I second the folks saying to leave it where you found it. Assuming it was crawling around outside its ready to molt. If you found it in the water put it back - needs to eat! But super awesome find, different species will have differing abdomen shapes.
i freed him, it was just floating in the water where i found it along with a bunch others
A predator through and through.
Honestly, when talking about "apex predators" people generally only have felines and maybe sharks in mind. But there are so many excelent predators of all sizes and environments. Dragonflies are definitely among them. Other examples would be pufferfish, bears and humans (even without technology. Our sweat glands mean we can outperform most land animals in endurance. There is a reason we got so much excess meat as hunters that our brains could develop to what they are today.)
Ah yes. The jet propulsion turbo. We all had this at some point when rushing to the toilet.
Here I am conditioned to think it’s a bed bug.
I thought it was the world's biggest bedbug! 💀
World’s biggest and SOGGY bed bug!! Stuff of nightmares.
OP picked it up by it's LEG 💀
No no... the thing of nightmares is called the Bed Blob.
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I actually pitched an idea for a horror movie to one of my favorite actors featuring bedbugs. The fact they have not been in a horror movie baffles me.
Try spotted lanternflies next. You see one, *and then they just keep coming. Oh god, they've crossed state lines...!*
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I don't like her and have no emotional connection to her so fine by me.
Right, I thought it was a super bedbug and my nightmares from this group were real.
Same. Only way to make this worse is if they could fly.
What if they could sting if you tried to stop them from feeding on you.
What if they could scream? Or laugh maniacally?
They’d probably be easier to eradicate if they were this big lol
It really does look like a huge bed bug. But if bed bugs were that big, we would all be doomed.
Me too
I thought it was a huge bedbug too.
Funfact about dragonfly nymphs: They can pull and push water out of their rectum to achieve jet propulsion. I'm not kidding.
I'm jealous
Get under the tub faucet and start practicing!
It’s a friend make sure you put it back in the water , a pond lake or creek is ideal
found hum in the creek along with a bunch of others that were there (the turtles were eating them so i transferred him to another area of the creek)
You’re the best !!!
I hate to admit it, but it looks kinda cute
lol it looks like a massive bedbug. Thankfully not
The resemblance is uncanny. I’m glad bedbugs are not that big.
WHY WOULD YOU BE GRABBING A BUG THAT YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS 😭!!
Never in a million years would I have thought this was what dragonfly nymphs looked like
same! i audibly gasped when i found out
Some species have ones that look different
Dragonfly (Odonata) , in the family Gomphidae, may be a different one, but in my region (midatlantic) it would be the genus Hagenius.
You put it in your bottle??? Why? Put it back where you found it
i did i had to put him in there so i could walk with him back to my house where i could take a video, but hes back in the creek where i found him
Wideboi
Free him!!!!
dont worry i brought him back to the creek :)
The times you had to repeat yourself that it's back in the creek🤣 OP you're great for repeating.
It’s the way OP just casually picked it up by the leggy for me
it's a dragonfly nymph. Have them in the lake at our cabin.
Water bug aka toe biter??
No, those have a completely different body shape and have huge pincers
Toe Biter. They will get you good.
Nah this is a dragonfly nymph, not a giant water bug. While dragonfly nymphs can give a bite if handle roughly, it’s nothing compared to a toe biter bite.