Water Scorpion! (video)

Water Scorpion, Homer Lake Wetland, September 25, 2021

The standing water at the wetland was about half today of what it was yesterday when I arrived this morning. Many of the creatures I saw in the water yesterday were no longer to be seen today. I did not see, for example, any giant water bug nymphs or any common green darner dragonfly naiads, though today I saw dragonfly naiads I did not see many of yesterday or the day before. However, one of the things I had hoped to accomplish today was to get a better look at a water scorpion, so I was blessed to find this guy hanging around in the little bit of water that remained.

I mentioned water scorpions in passing in the previous blog post, but here's a better look. If you're thinking underwater preying mantis with snorkel at the back end for breathing air underwater, you're on the right track. You can see the resemblance in the front legs and they serve the same purpose -- raptorial legs for snagging prey. The water scorpions though, being true bugs, have piercing/sucking mouthparts instead of the chewing mouthparts of the preying mantis. I won't go into details as to how their prey is consumed, but let's just say you wouldn't want to be on the prey end of the deal. (Water scorpions are not dangerous to humans, but like the giant water bugs -- aka toe-biters -- they can inflict a painful bite.)

This fellow's body measured about an inch and a half long and the air siphon at the back end was about another inch. The middle and hind legs looked to be about the length of the body as well. When they are not looking as menacing as this fellow is in the photo above, they can, like a stick insect, hold their two front legs straight out in front of them to appear to be a stick or plant stem or something other than a potentially edible insect. 

The video below is compiled of a few short clips from Thursday this week when there was more water... and more snails. The annoyances of being a long lanky creature in a habitat crowded with snails (i.e. the drying wetland), can readily be seen. The video shows three such encounters, but I saw the water scorpion clear itself of seven snails in less than 30 minutes. Fortunately for the water scorpion, the snail population is only this dense due to the drying of the wetland and is not like this all summer long!


Water Scorpion Annoyed by Snails

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