The Dobsonfly found in Central America

The Dobsonfly Imagine a beautiful summer evening camping in the South…roasting marshmallows and hotdogs around a crackling fire underneath a sky full of stars, and as you walk to your tent with your handy flashlight, these bugs begin to buzz and whine around your head. Whoa! You’d be running for the hills, wouldn’t you? Turns out those huge, frightening creepy crawlers are called Dobson flies, and they are actually a very interesting insect. They are found in North and Central America. Did you know that they remain in their larval stage for up to three years? These fierce biting hellgrammites, as they are called, like to hang out underneath rocks in clean, fast running streams, and they can grow up to three inches long. They are sometimes called “toe biters”, and for good reason too! Interesting fact: Virginia natives say that thunderstorms trigger the emergence of the hellgrammites from the streams to pupate – a phenomenon known locally as "hellgrammite crawling". It is believed that the behavior is stimulated by the vibrations from the thunder! Once the hellgrammites find a good place to pupate, or develop into an adult dobsonfly, they dig a little hole into the ground somewhere moist, and about one month later, they emerge, ready to mate. Interesting fact: Good News: It is the male adult Dobsonfly with the scary horns on its head-they can be up to one inch long, but have no fear…they are so big they can’t bite humans. They are used to entice the female dobsonfly during mating, and for jousting battles with other male Dobson flies. Bad News: Although the female dobsonfly’s horns aren’t nearly as large, those little pincers pack a mean pinch, so watch out! These scary insects only live up to ten days-enough time for them to find a mate, copulate, and for the females to lay their eggs. Interesting Fact: Although they are not pretty to look at, hellgrammites are an indicator of whether our streams are clean, making them an important part of our ecosystem-proving once again that there are the good, the bad, and the ugly amongst God’s creatures! Article by S.Lopez Photo of Dobson fly captured in Honduras.