Dangerous Days at the Office

OK, I'm trying not to freak out. Pasted below is a description of our now-identified insect intruder (according to Wikipedia):
Lethocerus sp. (aka: "The Toe Biter") found in Florida and Montana
Bugs of the family Belostomatidae are fierce predators which stalk, capture and feed on aquatic crustaceans, fish and amphibians. They often lie motionless at the bottom of a body of water, attached to various objects, where they wait for prey to come near. They then strike, injecting a powerful digestive saliva with their mouthparts, and sucking out the liquefied remains.
Their bite is considered one of the most painful that can be inflicted by any insect; the longer the bug is allowed to inject its saliva, the worse the resulting bite, and as the saliva liquefies muscle tissue, it can in rare instances do permanent damage. Adults cannot breathe under water, and must surface periodically for air. Occasionally when encountered by a larger predator, such as a human, they have been known to "play dead" and emit a fluid from their anus. Due to this they are assumed dead by humans and others species only to later "come alive" with painful results.
Belostomatids show parental care and the eggs of many species are laid on the male's wings and carried until they hatch. Adults fly at night, like many aquatic insects, and are attracted to lights during the breeding season.
We have a theory that it hitched a ride in one of our shipments of Montana Silversmiths jewelry. The only other viable theory is that it hitched a ride in my purse on my way home from Florida last month. As you might imagine, I prefer the former.

5 Comments:
I can't imagine that it hitched a ride from Inglis, Fl. I've NEVER seen one of those bugs in my life and I've lived here for 16 years!!! That's kind of scary though! Speaking of scary, check the blog!
Yeah, I've seen flying roaches in FL, but I don't remember anything like this!
Well, thanks for the input! I'm more confident than ever that it came in a box from Montana!
i have nothing to input about bugs other than i hate them. i just wanted to find a place to say hi and that it's been a long time. i hope you're doing great and it was really nice to find this site.
ables? that you? good to hear from you!!!! i promise i'll blog more later...work is too busy right now :(
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