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Published On: Sep 16, 2005 07:13 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Sep 16, 2005 07:13 AM
Bug bites boy
I learned the difference between water boatmen
and backswimmers today.
I was poking around a few day old puddle at work
today by the water tanks and I saw an insect sculling about the puddle with a
really long pair of paddle-like legs. "Cool! A water boatman!" I thought.
"Something to keep me from getting bored and angry after watching the fence crew
get stuck for the forth time and keeping me two hours late."
So I caught it. And it bit me. And it stung after I dropped it. I caught it again and it bit me again and I left it in the puddle.
After I got home I did a little research on water boatmen and I learned they don't bite. However, backswimmers are larger, they bite, they have toxic enzyzmes for dissolving the innards of their prey, they can eat small fish and tadpoles, and they are sometimes called water bees. They can fly, which helps solve the biogeographic mystery of how it found this puddle in the middle of the desert so quickly. You learn something every day.
So I caught it. And it bit me. And it stung after I dropped it. I caught it again and it bit me again and I left it in the puddle.
After I got home I did a little research on water boatmen and I learned they don't bite. However, backswimmers are larger, they bite, they have toxic enzyzmes for dissolving the innards of their prey, they can eat small fish and tadpoles, and they are sometimes called water bees. They can fly, which helps solve the biogeographic mystery of how it found this puddle in the middle of the desert so quickly. You learn something every day.
Posted: Wed - October 8, 2003 at 09:47 PM