Large Insect
Posted by Megan Gashgarian on July 13, 2006
Q: At work I found a large flying insect and was wondering what it was. It was about 3 inchec long, large head, long thing pincers, dragonfly-like wings, and was dark brown.
Habitat: suburban/yard
State: Ontario
Habitat: suburban/yard
A: I'm pretty sure your insect was a Dobson Fly. These insects are a bit scary since they're so large but they're harmless. Although the males have very large mandibles the females have smaller ones. Immature Dobson Flies are called hellgrimmites, live in streams for about 3 years, and are an especially choice bait for fishermen. You might want to google both Dobson Fly and hellgrimmite to see if my identification is correct. Thanks for asking.
John Wiessinger ( July 14, 2006)