Several of the ferocious bugs found in Thailand belong to the same family as water striders, which propel themselves along the surface of water.

Ferocious Thai insects devour fish

Entomologists have discovered 50 new species of insects in Thailand, some of which are water bugs large enough to eat small fish-and inflict intense bites on curious humans.

Robert Sites and his team have described 12 of the 50 new species so far: Six of the ferocious bugs belong to the same family as water striders, also known as Gerridae, which propel themselves along the surface of water. The other six belong to the family Aphelocheiridae, a group that includes "toe biters," which dwell in the gravel of streams and hunt for prey there.

Once the bugs locate prey, they stun it with a bite. "It's much, much worse than a bee or wasp sting," Sites said. "I was bitten in the pad of my little finger, and I felt intense pain all the way to my elbow for a good 30 minutes." *sheeeesh*

After the prey is stunned, the predatory insects whip a straw-like appendage out and pump toxins into their meal, liquefying it from the inside-out. "After that, they suck out the juice," Sites said.

The bites may be painful, but none are dangerous to humans. "From a scientific perspective, they're all cool," Sites said. *terrific quote of a typical entomologist's statement* "They feed on other insects that they can overpower in the streams. Some even eat small fish. They're pretty ferocious predators."

Although the bugs are related to other insects around the world, they live only in the streams and waterfalls of the Himalayan Mountain foothills - a region facing growing environmental pressures, Sites said, from locals who clear forests to plant crops, then move on once the soil's resources are exhausted.

"It's an ongoing problem and a threat to species we haven't even discovered yet," Sites said.

Descriptions of three of the new species appear in a recent issue of the Annals of the Entomological Society of America.

- MSNBC

Interesting... Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....

jingjoe nam

Interesting... Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....

particularly the skinny-dipping version of going into the water......

It usually makes me happy whenever they discover new life on our planet, I am struggeling a bit with this one

Kind regards

It usually makes me happy whenever they discover new life on our planet, I am struggling a bit with this one

Kind regards

Picture yourself floating serenely on your back in some remote and quiet pond....

a gentle breeze blowing through the forest...

birds chirping happily in the background...

the sun slowly dipping down...

the cool water providing an extremely peaceful feeling...

when all of a sudden...

50 of these huge "ferocious Thai insects" pictured above begin a fast scurry all over your body ripping at your flesh!!! :D

Trying to liquify you from inside out!!!

Mt wife's family do that to me and they don't even have wings.

Mt wife's family do that to me and they don't even have wings.

It takes so much time reading to get to these gems

I'm sure that somewhere there is a vendor selling these things fried...?

Thais don't bother naming anything they can't eat.

sriracha john has just come up with the next scary movie that will be playing soon at your local Thai cinaplex

(of course they'll be ghost bugs)

sriracha john has just come up with the next scary movie that will be playing soon at your local Thai cinaplex

(of course they'll be ghost bugs)

It's surely a scarry movie than 'THE FLY". Hence this new spicy can stab into you flesh.

My worst nightmare is billions of bugs is taking over the mankind.

Global Warming Could Trigger Insect Population Boom

A rise in the Earth's temperature could lead to an increase in the number of insects worldwide, with potentially dire consequences for humans, a new study suggests.

New research shows that insect species living in warmer areas are more likely to undergo rapid population growth because they have higher metabolic rates and reproduce more frequently. The finding has scientists concerned that global warming could give rise to more fast-growing insect populations and that we could see a spike in the number of six-legged critters.

The consequences could be more serious than just a few extra bug bites each summer. "If they're crop species, we could count on needing to use more pesticides and it could be very costly," said Melanie Frazier, a doctoral student at the University of Washington and lead author of the study.

Insect-borne diseases are also a worry. Malaria, Lyme Disease and a host of others rely on insect vectors to spread among humans, and a swell in their populations could mean more infections.

Already, scientists have observed a widening of malarial zones with new cases appearing in previously unaffected areas.

The change is thought to be due to rising temperatures and an expansion of areas habitable for mosquitoes. The new research, detailed in the October issue of The American Naturalist, shows rising temperatures would mean insects would not only spread out, but also multiply more quickly.

Still, Frazier says it's too soon to predict which species will adapt and which might even face extinction. She and her colleagues looked at 65 insect species and found a correlation between warm climes and population growth across the board - but, she cautioned, the scientists have no way of predicting which species will eventually adapt to new, warmer areas.

We won't have to wait long to find out. Insects adapt quickly, so we will likely see changes within our lifetime, Frazier says.