200 
Bugs, Cicadas, Aphids, and Scale-insects 
will go whirling around the bright globe of light, casting large fleeting 
shadows on the ground below. The giant in the pool’s depth and the giant 
in the giddy swarm at the light are one and the same, viz., the giant water- 
bug or electric-light bug, a member of the family Belostomatidse. Most 
of its life is passed in the water; it hatches from eggs deposited under water, 
lives its whole immature life in the pool, and only comes out for a short flying 
season to find mates or a new pool. The two largest species of this family, 
both common in this country, are Belostoma americana (Fig. 275) and Benacus 
griseus, distinguishable by the fact that 
the former has a groove on each front 
femur for the tibia to fit in when folded. 
A smaller kind, more oval in shape, is the 
commonest form on the Pacific slope. 
This is Serphus dilatatus, the toe-biter, 
Fig. 276. 
F IG . 275.—The giant water-bug or electric-light bug, Belostoma americana. (Natural 
s ize.) 
Fig. 276.—The western water-bug, Serphus sp.; male with eggs deposited on its back 
by female. (Natural size.) 
which is ij to ij inches long and J to J inch wide. In the East a still 
smaller form, Zaitha fluminea , is common. This is a little less than 1 
inch long. All these Belostomatids are fiercely predaceous, capturing 
aquatic insects, tadpoles, etc., and are armed with a short, strong, pointed 
beak with which a serious puncture can be made. They secrete themselves 
beneath stones or rubbish, whence they dart out on their victims. A con¬ 
siderable amount of poisonous saliva enters the wound made by the beak, 
and probably aids in overcoming the prey. The larger species attack 
young fish, seizing them with their strong grasping fore legs and sucking 
their blood. They can do much injury in carp-ponds or in garden-pools 
where fishes are kept for pleasure. The females of the species of the 
