#corydalus cornutus

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

Ok, there were lots of votes for fuzzy (tomorrow, I promise), but I was inspired by @cccshutdown requesting "bring me the Longest beast you know" to post this ginormous female dobsonfly we found at the lights a couple of weeks ago. She is Eastern Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus), she is Megaloptera, and she is FIERCE!!

[jenfoundabug]

Eastern dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus) larva I found while hanging out in the river in Northeastern Pennsylvania (US) last year. Dobsonfly larvae, also known as hellgrammites, are one of the top invertebrate predators in fast-moving streams. They tend to hide under rocks and use their sharp mandibles to capture and eat prey. These mandibles can also deliver a painful (but harmless) bite, so definitely be careful handling them! Larvae can get up to 3.5 inches (9 cm) long. Since they're large and relatively common, many of the local fishermen like to use them as bait (which may or may not be problematic).

These insects spend 1-3 years as larvae and pupate outside of the stream under a rock or log. The adults are huge. The male can be up to 5.5 inches (14 cm) long and has massive mandibles that are intimidating but harmless. Adults aren't known to feed, and they only live for about a week, just enough time to mate and lay eggs.

[onenicebugperday]

Eastern dobsonfly, Corydalus cornutus, Corydalidae

Found throughout the eastern United States and up into Canada.

Photo 1 (adult female) by tmurray74, 2 (adult male) by togatiya, 3 (larva - aka hellgrammite) by kellysmith, and 4 (pupa) by muir

[spiny-ant]

THE BADASS BUG BRACKET

ROUND 1, BRACKET 9

Eastern Dobsonfly (corydalus cornutus) vs Baphomet Moth (Creatonotos gangis)

Eastern Dobsonfly propaganda: THEYRE BIG AND BEAUTIFUL AND EVERYWHERE. THE MALES HAVE HUGE PINCERS AND THEIR LARVAE ARE CALLED HELLGRAMMITES!!!!!!!!!!!

Baphomet Moth propaganda: (none given)

[dougdimmadodo]

Fast Fauna Facts #22 - Eastern Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus)

Family: Dobsonfly Family (Corydalidae)

IUCN Conservation Status: Unassessed

Like most dobsonfly species male Eastern Dobsonflies like the individual pictured above have enormous mandibles used to impress females, wrestle with rival males and grip partners during mating, but despite their intimidating appearance these mandibles are fairly weak and are unlikely to cause significant injury to humans. Ironically, the much shorter mandibles of females are significantly more powerful, with an adult female Eastern Dobsonfly potentially breaking skin if provoked. While both male and female Eastern Dobsonflies possess impressive jaws neither actually feed as adults, instead spending the entirety of their short lives gathered around shallow slow-moving streams attempting to locate and impress mates. After mating female Eastern Dobsonflies lay eggs on rocks or plants hanging over water, and the newly-hatched aquatic larvae, known as hellgrammites, are born with extremely powerful jaws used to feed on smaller insects as they grow.

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Image Source: Here

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[pelecinus-polyturator]

recent pins. still reconstructing the longhorn, he needs some legs glued on.

Eastern Dobsonfly, Corydalus cornutus

Northeastern Pine Sawyer, Monochamus notatus

Luna Moth, Actias luna

[shadedmetal]

Nocturnal flying Dobson flies

These creatures at their larval stage is an aggressive aquatic predator that can eat fish. Also known as toebitter and hellgrammite this single species has two common names, corydalus cornutus, depending on its lifecycle stage.

[todaysbug]

December 13th, 2023

Eastern Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus)

Distribution: Found throughout eastern North America, from Canada down to Mexico.

Habitat: Found in or near fast-flowing, unpolluted rivers and streams; larvae live on the stream bottom, while adults are terrestrial (though remain around bodies of water).

Diet: Larvae are active predators, feeding on small invertebrates such as insects, other arthropods, molluscs and worms; preference for the larvae of blackflies, caddisflies and mayflies. Adult females feed on nectar, while males are not known to feed.

Description: Eastern dobsonflies are large, solitary insects. Their most obvious characteristic is the males' oversized mandibles, which can reach up to half the length of its body. Despite the adults' fearsome appearance, however, they're quite harmless. Larvae, however, have powerful mandibles and the capacity to deliver a painful bite.

Dobsonfly larvae, also known as hellgrammites, are commonly used as bait for fishermen. They're important predators of invertebrates in stream ecosystems, and are a natural enemy of blackflies. In habitats where fish are small or absent, large hellgrammites may be the largest predator in the water.

(Images by Kailyn Lianne Liu (adult) and Even Dankowicz (larva))

[sharkyuwu]

Big-ass bug I found at work today.

A female Eastern Dobsonfly (corydalus cornutus)

Thought it was cool. Crazy to think that it’ll only be alive for like a week or two before mating then dying. Sometimes I envy them…

[thedisablednaturalist]

They need to make more bug plushies. I want to hold and cuddle my bugs but cannot bc they are fragile and do not like that. Give me a Corydalus cornutus larva that I can snuggle without it biting the absolute hell out of me (haha get it)

[gergarnero]

MOSCA DOBSON DEL ESTE ( CORYDALUS CORNUTUS, LINNEO 1758 )

LARVA_CORYDALUS CORNUTUS CORYDALUS CORNUTUS ORDEN: MEGALOPTERA. FAMILIA: CORYDALIDAE. AMBIENTE: ACUÁTICO- TERRESTRE. ACTIVIDAD: NOCTURNO CREPUSCULAR. ALIMENTACIÓN: PREDADOR LARVA. METAMORFOSIS: HOLOMETÁBOLO. DISTRIBUCIÓN, HÁBITAT: ESTA ESPECIE SE ENCUENTRA EN TODO EL CONTINENTE AMERICANO DESDE EL ESTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS. HABITA RÍOS Y ARROYOS TANTO EN ZONAS BAJAS COMO DE MONTAÑA, EN ZONAS…

[humanbyweight]

Dobsonflies like to hang out on your clothing, but they HATE to be moved.

“Crayfish of the Sky”, I call ‘em.

[cityspiderboston-blog]

[Image Description: Three images of the same bug. In all three, they are close-up images of a large bug (about 2-3 inches long) clinging to the outside of a window screen. The first is a side view of the bug, where you can see its large greenish eyes and it’s grey-tan body. The second is a top view, where you can see more detail of the translucent wings, and the feathering of the antennae. The third is a view of it spreading its wings out as though it were about to fly, making them more obviously translucent.]

One of the best parts about being “that weirdo who likes bugs” is that gradually all your friends figure it out and then excitedly drag you over whenever they see a cool bug! Such was the case with this big beauty, in the midst of one of the late-night parties at Pinewoods camp. I didn’t even know the friend in question liked bugs, and after I took a bunch of pictures, we went inside to borrow a bug book and try and ID it.

(Any quality dance camp should have a number of reference books available, on the local flora and fauna. I’m trying to grow my own small collection as well, but it’s convenient to not have to carry the library with me.)

We were ten minutes of flipping through pages in, when my Adventure Buddy wandered over and glanced at the photo on my camera screen. “Oh, what a nice Eastern Dobsonfly!” (Corydalus cornutus) says he, and one flip to the correct section later, we’ve confirmed he’s right! It’s a female Dobsonfly, which my more recent research implies is capable of delivering a pretty nasty bite! I’m a little bummed I didn’t get a closer picture of her powerful mandibles...but then again, maybe I didn’t want to get *too* close!

There are varieties of Dobsonflies all over the world, some of which can grow to have as much as a seven or eight inch wingspan! They live a short life, about a week at most, and spend it trying to ensure the continuation of their magnificent species. I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t spot a male Dobsonfly as well, as the gents have significant mandibles, long enough to almost be mistaken for another set of antennae!

Image Credit: I took this one! CC-BY-NC CitySpider 2018

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

I was participating in that silly black & white photo meme on Facebook and came up with this dobsonfly gem. I loved it so much, I had to post it here! It reminds me of a Janet Jackson video for some reason...

[kleeklutch]

Dobsonfly