Giant water bug (toe-biter)

Freshwater ponds, marshes, slow streams, and occasionally lights or walls near water.

Predatory; captures aquatic insects, crustaceans, tadpoles, and small fish with piercing-sucking mouthparts, injecting digestive enzymes.

Mostly nocturnal and attracted to lights; adults can fly and may leave water to disperse. They ambush prey and often carry eggs on the male’s back in some species.

Their defensive bite is very painful but usually not medically dangerous. They help control aquatic prey populations and serve as food for fish, birds, and other predators.