This Venomous Missouri Water Bug Known for Viciously Biting Toes

I promise I will be more careful before getting in the water from now on since I now know about a venomous water bug in Missouri that is notorious for viciously biting toes and I'm not exaggerating one little bit.

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Have you ever had a run-in with the Lethocerus americanus? The Missouri Department of Conservation calls them the un-scientific name of "Giant Water Bugs". They are delivers of pain if you end up on the wrong side of an encounter with them. Here's what Missouri bug experts say about these giant water bugs:

if handled or inadvertently harassed by bare-footed waders, can deliver an excruciatingly painful bite — hence their other common name, “toe-biters.”

"Excruciatingly painful bite"? That's all I need to know. Oh, and they even look like evil round scorpion bugs.

You can find these bad boys lurking on the bottom of ponds sometimes and you don't want your foot near one. Don't ask me how I know.

This lady calls them the "leviathan of fresh water ponds". She's not wrong.

This is one of those bugs you'll tangle with at some point in your life if you spend time near Missouri ponds as the Missouri Department of Conservation mentions they're "statewide". They serve a positive purpose in nature as they are even a danger to snakes, but if your human toes get assaulted by one, you'll wish you hadn't got out of bed that day. Serious, serious bug pain. Beware.