Asian giant water bug
The Asian giant water bug is a huge brown bug that lives in ponds and paddy fields. It can be as long as a grown-up's finger. In some Asian countries people even cook and eat it as a treat.
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Fun facts
In Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines and northeast India, people fry it and eat it. Some say it tastes like sweet shrimp.
The male makes a special smell that some say is like bananas.
In Vietnam a tiny drop of its scent is added to soups and sauces, and real drops are very expensive.
Scientists study its big flight muscles to learn how muscles, even heart muscles, work.
Most asked questions about Asian giant water bug
?Can you eat a giant water bug?
Yes. In parts of Asia people fry it or use it in sauces. Some say it tastes like sweet shrimp.
?How big is the Asian giant water bug?
It is about 6.5 to 8 centimetres long.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Lethocerus indicus
- Group
- True bugs and cicadas
- Family
- Belostomatidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Hemiptera > Belostomatidae
- Lives on
- Asia, Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Lethocerus indicus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Viethavvh at Vietnamese Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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