Dobsonfly - the scariest bug in the world

Submitted by Patrick Grote on Tue, 10/24/2006 - 4:41am.

On vacation in Georgia this year, we came across the following bug. It was sitting on the cover of the hot tub and was the scariest bug any of us had ever seen:

 

 

The thing was almost as large as the glass and had pinchers that looked like they would rip off your finger.

The internet is great, so it was no surprise that there is a site that helps you identify bugs.  Bug Guide is a great site where you can upload a photo of your bug and ask for help. 

We tried this out and within ten minutes our bug was identified. The background on Dobson Flies is very interesting.  

It turns out the pinchers we were so afraid of aren't that strong. They're used by the males to hold on to the females for mating.  


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