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The Wild Pest
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Biting bugs

Every species in the Wild Files corpus where biting is a defining trait.

14 on file

On File
An Australian tiger beetle (Rivacindela hudsoni), iridescent green-bronze body with prominent curved mandibles.
Curious
Six Legs73
Alias
Rivacindela hudsoni

Australian Tiger Beetle

Fastest insect on Earth. Runs so fast her eyes can't keep up.

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On File
An eastern dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus) male, large gray-brown body with absurdly elongated curved mandibles extending forward from the head.
Curious
Six Legs80
Alias
Corydalus cornutus

Eastern Dobsonfly

Male carries 4 cm mandibles too long to bite. Larva ('hellgrammite') is a 3-year underwater predator.

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On File
A giant water bug (Lethocerus americanus), broad flat brown body with raptorial forelegs and pointed rostrum visible.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Lethocerus americanus

Giant Water Bug

Largest true bug on Earth. Eats frogs and turtles. Bite is worse than a wasp sting. Father carries the eggs.

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On File
A titan beetle (Titanus giganteus), enormous chestnut-brown beetle with massive mandibles and elongated antennae.
Curious
Six Legs82
Alias
Titanus giganteus

Titan Beetle

Largest beetle in the world. 17 cm long. Snaps a pencil with her jaws. Larva has never been seen.

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On File
A wheel bug (Arilus cristatus), gray-brown body with a distinctive half-gear-shaped crest on the thorax and curved rostrum.
Curious
Six Legs79
Alias
Arilus cristatus

Wheel Bug

Wears half a gear-wheel on her back. Bite hurts worse than most snakes. Liquefies caterpillars.

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On File
A hellgrammite (Corydalus cornutus larva), large flattened dark-brown elongated aquatic predator with massive curved sickle-like jaws and prominent lateral filaments along each abdominal segment, side profile.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Corydalus cornutus

Hellgrammite

Predatory aquatic larva of dobsonfly. 6-9 cm. Massive sickle jaws. Most-prized live bait in NA stream fishing.

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On File
A Jerusalem cricket (Stenopelmatus fuscus), large flightless cricket-like insect with a huge bulging human-like head, large dark eyes, striped abdomen with alternating black-and-tan bands, six legs, side profile.
Curious
Six Legs81
Alias
Stenopelmatus fuscus

Jerusalem Cricket (Potato Bug)

Looks like a 7 cm cricket with a HUMAN-LIKE BULGING head. The 'potato bug' / 'child of the earth'.

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On File
A female lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum), small reddish-brown tick with a single large white or silver 'lone star' spot in the center of the dorsal scutum, eight legs, top view.
Outlaw
Six Legs85
Alias
Amblyomma americanum

Lone Star Tick

Bite makes you ALLERGIC TO MAMMALIAN MEAT. Alpha-gal syndrome — discovered 2009.

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On File
A backswimmer (Notonecta glauca), boat-shaped body with silvery underside facing up and dramatically elongated oar-like hind legs, in upside-down resting posture at water surface.
Curious
Six Legs82
Alias
Notonecta glauca

Common Backswimmer

Only insect that swims UPSIDE DOWN. Bite hurts like a bee sting. Eats mosquito larvae and tadpoles.

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On File
A cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), tiny laterally-compressed dark brown wingless insect with powerful hind jumping legs and short antennae.
Outlaw
Six Legs86
Alias
Ctenocephalides felis

Cat Flea

Most common flea worldwide. Jumps 100× her body length at 100g. Dominant flea on cats, dogs, humans.

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On File
A black fly (Simulium damnosum), small humped dark gray-black fly with short proboscis and broad clear wings.
Apex Outlaw
Six Legs81
Alias
Simulium damnosum

Black Fly (Buffalo Gnat)

Bites livestock and humans in clouds. African subgroup vectors river blindness. Public-health success story.

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On File
A sand fly (Phlebotomus papatasi), tiny hairy brownish fly with V-shaped wings held above the body and long thin legs.
Outlaw
Six Legs75
Alias
Phlebotomus papatasi

Sand Fly

Tiny enough to slip through mosquito netting. Vector of leishmaniasis. Affects 12 million people.

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On File
A black horse fly (Tabanus atratus), large robust black-bodied fly with iridescent green compound eyes and clear wings.
Outlaw
Six Legs79
Alias
Tabanus atratus

Horse Fly

Slices the skin with scissor-mandibles. Eyes glow rainbow-iridescent. Most painful fly bite on Earth.

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On File
A camel spider (Galeodes arabs), tan-colored body with enormous forward-projecting jaws and long pedipalp-like first legs.
Curious
Six Legs86
Alias
Galeodes arabs

Camel Spider

Third major arachnid order. Largest jaws-to-body ratio in arachnids. The fastest arachnid runner.

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