Post by KNOWTHIS on May 23, 2007 21:43:54 GMT -5
www.livescience.com/animals/070521_new_insects.html
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."
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.
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."
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.