However, this practice is no longer in favour in the West. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO , insect breeding is a solution to feed growing populations and to fight climate change, Despite some resistance, specialist shops in western countries have started selling insects such as the water bug.
This particular insect is rich in proteins, calcium and iron. Insect-eating , or entomophagy , has been commonplace in many parts of the world since prehistoric times.
However, this practice is no longer in favour in the West, as it is deemed disgusting or primitive. This perception is likely to change in view of demographic growth, limits on farmland available for meat production, and climate change. Insects are rich in proteins and good fats hence, according to the FAO, insect breeding is a solution of the future.
A member of the Corixidae family, the giant water bug , or Lethocerus Americanus , is a large aquatic insect measuring between 5. It is found in America as well as South-East Asia.
This allows them to then suck out the liquefied remains. How do these bugs breathe underwater? Giant water bugs have an appendage on the tip of the abdomen that extends above water to collect oxygen. An unusual trait typical of many giant water bugs is that parental care is reversed—males rear the young. Males in the genus, Belostoma , carry the developing eggs on their back until they hatch. Males of the genus, Lethocerus , guard eggs glued to vegetation until they hatch.
Sometimes this lands them in your backyard pool overnight! The eggs mature over 1 to 2 weeks and then hatch into nymphs. The nymphs, which look like mini versions of the adult, go through five stages of growth instars over the next 2 months before reaching adulthood.
Adults overwinter in muddy stream or pool bottoms. They dive underwater with a film of air covering their body, so they can breathe. This enables them to stay underwater for a long period of time. They can also fly. A backswimmer looks very much like a water boatman, but they can be told apart by the fact that they swim on their backs.
They prey on other aquatic insects and can bite. Once prey comes within reach, the predators quickly snap their front legs tight and grasp the creature with their other legs. The bugs then pierce their prey with a dagger-like proboscis, injecting enzymes and possibly anesthetic chemicals. Giant water bugs are unusual among insects in that males take on the bulk of responsibility in caring for the eggs. In some species, males guard egg clutches—as many as five at a time— by protecting them from predators such as ants.
Read about the discovery of seven giant bug species that are extremely aggressive. In most species, they hatch in a season when smaller prey is less abundant, forcing them to go after seemingly impossible prey such as tadpoles or small fish. Nymphs are armed with highly curved front legs, which helps them clasp prey more easily, according to Ohba.
Yet what goes around comes around in terms of the food chain, Swart adds—giant water bugs often fall prey to larger fish, ducks, and possibly raccoons or turtles.
Some people also eat them fried or boiled in Southeast Asia. As scary as water bugs sound, their status as top-shelf predators means they are key to maintaining a healthy ecosystem.
Water pollution can harm their populations, and alien species such as crayfish and bullfrogs can prey on water bugs. Read why insect populations are plummeting—and why it matters. That means scientists should work to ensure clean, invasive-free fresh water for these crucial species, Ohba says. All rights reserved.
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