Giant water bugs (Lethocerus americanus) are large (over two inches long) insects that spend most of their lives in bodies of water such as ponds and lakes. They are predators, capturing prey with raptorial forelimbs, and then killing prey with an injection of venom that aids digestion. Giant water bugs are capable of capturing and consuming small vertebrates such as fish and frogs. The photograph above shows a giant water bug from Napa Co., California. The small red bumps on the bug are mites.

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