Dobsonfly facts: also known as hellgrammites! | Animal Fact Files

On this episode of Animal Fact Files discover animals who purposefully try to look like poop.
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Image and Video Credits:
Diana - • HELLgrammiteZ
Rick Shears - • Stream Quality Monitor...
Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren - www.flickr.com...
Pavel Kirillov - www.flickr.com...
Bob Henricks - www.flickr.com... www.flickr.com... www.flickr.com...
Judy Gallagher - www.flickr.com...
L. Shyamal - commons.wikime... commons.wikime...
Aomorikuma - commons.wikime...
Dehaan - commons.wikime...
Auckland Museum - commons.wikime...
Adriana Nelly Correa Sandoval - www.inaturalis...
Even Dankowicz - www.inaturalis... www.inaturalis...
Alison Norhtup - www.inaturalis...
Whitney Cranshaw - www.insectimag...
Julian-Caballero C. Camilo - www.inaturalis...
John P. Friel - www.inaturalis...
shewbox - freesound.org/...
Peter Kuttner - vimeo.com/1249...
Danmation - vimeo.com/1767...
Research Credits:
www.itis.gov/s...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
books.google.c...
tolweb.org/Cory...
animaldiversit...
edis.ifas.ufl....
www.britannica...

[@TheAlex6267]

Discovered these four months ago. Was pulling guard duty at a lonely access point on Ft. Sill that only opens up when flooding prevents other methods of exit from the area. Sitting out in the dark, under a bugzapper in the middle of the night, I felt something on the back of my neck, so I slapped it imagining a mosquito or a tarantula(god forbid). It was crunchier than anticipated, so over the course of the next .0005 seconds I examined my hand to see this terrifying 5 inch bug with monstrous pincers twitching in my palm, stood up, struck my high school Quarterback Hail Mary pass pose, and fucking Liberty Prime Mini Nuke spiked that thing into the street in front of me at about Mach 15. Spent the next 30 minutes browsing through every insect on the Oklahoma wildlife registry trying to find any thing that could confirm that this creature was in fact of this world, and not from hell.

[@joecombes1964]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. BRO I HAD SOME SIMILAR EXPERIANCE! me and my buddies were partying for 4th of july camping on a small island by the river near my home town, and i was chillin by the fire drunk off my ass at like 1am and this fucker started climbing on my gut and i pretty much punched myself in the stomach and tweaked for a second or two. fuck dopsonflies.

[@cosmictsunami]

Dudes, to botb of you, very brave. I wouldnt believe my eyes if it was American soil. Im not an outdoorsman but im 29 years old and have literally never seen these. Id mace it and call the cops.

[@gansetsukon]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ThePanicman66]

Fuck me mate! I would of shat-me pants😂

[@matthewhummel1572]

😂 my first encounter with these was about 15 years ago on the wall at work. We were taking a smoke break and we had never seen one before. I got curious and looked at it as close as I dared. Of course I had the good fortune of seeing it before it landed on me. Lol

[@Momcat_maggiefelinefan]

I met a Dobson fly on the stairs going up to my second floor apartment over 45 years ago. I’m a big fan of insects, but this 4 inch long creature creeped me out so much that I was forever changed. I’ll never forget the shock that I felt at that moment. Very cool bug, but holy crow, it was so big it seemed dangerous. Unnatural!

[@skelly4998]

Do you think you ever stepped on one before and didn't realize it?

[@k4ff347]

@@skelly4998 that’s a terrifying thought to have

[@vickiezaccardo1711]

So odd that this popped- up. A year or so ago I saw an insect I' d never seen or heard of. Had no idea what it was but this is definitely it. Yes, it was huge.

[@BaldguyWifi]

I was in northern wisconsin drinking some beers with some buddies one night when suddenly we saw what looked like a blimp of a bug flying. We saw this fly (female one, huge fucking jaws) and we’re just freaking out at the size. My friend took a canoe oar and smacked it, but it just flew away

[@Dang3rMouSe]

I finally know what I found working as a pool manager at a summer camp decades ago. My female counterpart was from Australia & freaked out when we found it in the drinking fountain, asking me what it was. I had no clue. It was HUGE & would make a hiss like sound which I guess was some kind of striation. It was extremely aggressive. I removed it by getting it to latch its mandibles onto a stick & carried it that way 30 ft into the grass. It was like finding some kind of dangerous Pokémon, I'll never forget it

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Glad you found the Pokedex entry! 😉

[@purpleblah2]

You know it’s scary when the Australian is freaked out by the insect

[@nicholasmorgan7609]

When the Australian fears it, that's certainly something

[@butterflyenjoyer230]

Damnit i was too late to say You know its bad when an australian is afraid of it

[@milk7036]

@@AnimalFactFiles 🤣

[@johnwilliamson2276]

I have been using helgamites for bait for smallmouth bass since I was 9 years old. I am now 72, but didn't know what I just learned from your video. Thanks a lot.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

So glad you learned something new!

[@beebop9808]

I knew them as Grampus growing up in the Carolina mountains. Crazy good trout bait. Never threw them at smallies but I'm sure they loved them like spring lizards too.

[@kennypatterson2985]

When I was a kid I made a lot of money catching helgramites and selling them to the bait shop. I have caught literally thousands of them but never seen the Dobson fly. My grand pap taught me how to catch them when I was was a pup

[@beebop9808]

@@kennypatterson2985 I've seen them one to many times. I went cat fishing late one evening many years ago at a creek mouth on a large river. Planning to fish all night, about dark 30 I fired up a lantern and thousands of those freaking things started piling in on me from the trees! Didn't know what they were at first but got a close up of one of them and saw exactly what they were, giant teeth still intact! I ran like a little girl and didn't look back brother! hahahaha

[@bkingk8]

I take it they are good bait 👍

[@oscarivanova485]

“Hey mom look! There are some dobsonflies in this river, it means it’s a safe freshwater ecosystem!” The Mom: “Nice, lets have a swim then!” Me: “Yeah, what about nope.”

[@whysoblind5039]

My granddad would pull these out of logs in the river we fished on, I was horrified by them. He called them "gator fleas" and would use them as bait. Efficient bait for sure, but gah how gnarly.

[@davidachee1927]

Best bait in the bucket! It’s also a good way to freak out city folk lol!

[@gurrmeow666]

(mum wasnt happy) but we used to take one of the screens out of the window when we went fishing. wedge it down current while a sibling kicked and moved rocks up current. do that 3-4 times and fill our fishing limits xD

[@Slicknewt]

Gator fleas refers to giant water bugs aka toe biters. These arent what you were hearing be called gator fleas. Trust me, those things are no joke

[@tomsmith2215]

@@Slicknewt i found a water bug in my work parking lot and my coworker and i were telling each other to pick it up and move it before knowing what it was. glad i didnt take a hit from that thing

[@DwayneETowns]

Gator fleas.....!😅😅🤣 holyshit!

[@majorcoleman7356]

we catch these in early summer to fish with great Smallmouth Bass bait but here in eastern Ky we call them tuffies , because you can catch 3 or 4 fish off of one hellgrammite

[@ricktaylor3748]

They are tuff, you can't beat one off your hook. Best small mouth bait in the river.

[@leroyjenkins4671]

We call them Gunner bugs in SC. Things are smallmouth candy for sure.

[@rl2769]

This is true.

[@andrewdarlington7115]

Best bait ever in the eastern US for sure. Especially for smallmouth or channel cat. The only thing that compares are leopard salamanders but they're hard to find and catch. Both have tough skin though and can catch multiple fish with unit... unit meaning 1 salamander/helgrammite life lol.

[@mikeyerke3920]

Same in northeast PA!

[@Aflay1]

My first experience with Dobsonflies was on my trip to a campsite in central Texas. It got dark, so I turned on my light. WAM. ONE FLY. TWO FLIES. THREE FLIES. Landing right on my shirt. I assumed these were some kind of monstrous dinosaur wasp or something. Needless to say, I screamed like a girl and ran for my life. It dawned on me that they were attracted to light, so I turned off my light and started stumbling around screaming “GET IN THE TENT, GET IN THE TENT RIGHT NOW” It was like some Jurassic Park shit. They were crawling outside our tent. No one got any sleep 😂 Im going on another trip like that one next week. Wish me luck.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Ahaha what a crazy but fun experience! Especially if you didn't know what they were. Prehistoric dragonfly totally makes sense though!!! Good luck!!

[@Aflay1]

@@Rainbowclaw it went great! No dobsonflies, though I kind of wanted to see them again and scare my friends with them. I do love bugs.

[@winniecash1654]

Thank you for giving me a good laugh. I needed that! 🤣

[@christesterman]

If you flip your man card over and observe the small print I do believe there is a clause that states: High pitch audible noises are authorized when first initiating contact with Dobsonflies. Urination and deification on one's articles of clothing are still frowned down upon however, after which points might be deducted from your card.

[@Aflay1]

@@christesterman Nah M8 I'm a total wuss but I do love bugs. That's my weirdo card.

[@spiritualspinster4222]

These are wicked looking critters! I'll never forget the first time I saw one of these things. I just about jumped out of my shoes.

[@eucliduschaumeau8813]

When I was a little kid, camping outside for the first time ever, I woke up to a shuffling sound. It was very odd and sounded like something scraping against the tent. When I turned on my flashlight, there was an enormous Hellgrammite hanging just over the back of my head on the tent fabric. It was the most frightening creature I had ever seen and I ran inside the house quickly. Ugly doesn't always mean dangerous, but how could I have known.

[@erikgilson1687]

The larval stage looks almost exactly like what I imagined a Yerk to look like when I was a kid reading Animorphs

[@sm0k3.blunt-007]

WAIT. YOURE GIVING ME FLASHBACKS THOUGH.

[@JJ-fq4nl]

I’m always seeing them where I work near the Missouri River. Occasionally startling me when they get inside the building by the docking area. They will pinch if you try picking it up. Hilarious when a co worker tried 😆.

[@valerieshinabarger9422]

Thank you so much for this great informative video! I sat on a log by a lake this afternoon and an adult male crawled right up next to my foot then onto the log. I'd never heard of or seen these before and after watching this video it makes sense since they're typically close to water and only active around night time. Thanks again!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

That sounds like such an awesome experience with nature! Thank you for sharing!! 😊 Glad you were able to learn more about them after encountering one.

[@adreanmarantz2103]

Found one at work, caught it in a bowl, and released at the retention pool next door. We were all very impressed at its size. No one knew what it was. This was about 10 years ago, haven't seen one since until today with this video. (upstate New York)

[@AnimalFactFiles]

I've been trying to spot one in the wild, still no luck yet

[@AmberAmber]

Steamed Hams?

[@jacobtighe3234]

I worked at a Hardee's in Minnesota, and after a hard rain we had a ton of them dump out of the gutters right by the drive through. Absolutely horrifying.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Ooh that would be quite the sight to behold!

[@AlbertoVO5]

I already didn’t want to eat there but this clinched it lol.

[@justaguy6555]

First time i seen one i legitly thought i discoverd a new species of insect because ive never seen one before and its a freaky looking insect

[@AnimalFactFiles]

They are pretty strange! Did you find an adult?

[@justaguy6555]

@@AnimalFactFiles it was the full length of my hand so 6 inches or so

[@ChaosMagnet]

I am actually really glad that I have never seen them!

[@adammravenec5252]

Me to

[@Ben-uc9xn]

I have once Scariest thing ever

[@ImageLimestone]

They bite

[@darthsidious3951]

I just caught one because I want to use it for bait tomorrow and trust me if you mess up they will bite the piss out of you

[@paytonhicks861]

There was one in my little cousn carseat and good thing she saw it before us

[@normhiscock352]

There was a pond buy me that was loaded with these and leaches. One day me and my friends decided to build a homemade log raft like Tom Sawyer. Well it failed in the middle of the pond and we had to swim back to shore and when we got out we were covered head to toe in leaches.

[@carmengogeidnas9670]

This is why I don't fuck around with ponds

[@normhiscock352]

@@carmengogeidnas9670 It gave me a bit of PTSD lol.

[@erstwhilegrubstake]

I've seen a number of these where I live and though I'm not generally bothered by bugs, these things creep me out.

[@3dagalathor]

Hellgrammites make great fishing bait, if you are brave enough to pick one up

[@BlaireM]

Yay! You did my video and you pronounced my username right! Double win

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Thanks for the awesome suggestion! These were so much fun to learn about. =)

[@paulyhart]

i've caught both male and female and yes... the tusks of the male have almost no pull, or bite. they are used only for mating. and YES they are HUGE.

[@hex6970]

we have a lot of these in my area. During the summer you can find them all over the place (namely under rocks) on the islands on the Susquehanna River. They make good bait for fishing

[@megaliberty]

I occasionally see these in Harrisburg, PA, along the Susquehanna River. We also have some huge mayfly swarms. They make a crunching noise when you step on them while walking across the bridge.

[@uberlaughingman]

I saw hellgrammites in an estuary of the grand canyon. It took me a while to identify what it was because all the insect catalogs I searched primarily only showed pictures of adults.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Ah that can be difficult!

[@dylanvolckaert404]

Being European, I've never seen one of these. They look really cool and I wish they lived longer in their adult stage because they'd be a cool pet :P

[@AnimalFactFiles]

We live in the States and still haven't seen one. Would love to as well though! Always on the lookout!

[@canaan5337]

I have used hellgrammites as bait fishing for smallmouth bass they will bite you and you will bleed.

[@Dang3rMouSe]

My only experience was w/ 1 that was very aggressive & their mandibles are no joke. It came off as a look but touch & I'll keep your finger type of bug

[@injunsun]

I live in East Tennessee. I saw one just once, in the clear, cold water of the Pigeon River, at the city limits of Sevierville, TN, while on a nature discovery hike with a Native Plants in the Landscape college course, Spring of 2007. I hadn't heard of it before, being from West Michigan. I wish I had some for my tiny yard pond.

[@brandonwilson5998]

As an American in the south where bugs think they own ya home. Y'all can have these Terrors on wings if ya want em.

[@chewy10000]

A few years back, I was sitting on a chair on a warm summer night, when I got up and looked behind me, I saw a huge dobsonfly just sitting on the wall right above the chair, right behind where my head was. I was very grateful I didn't lean my head back. I usually don't mind bugs or spiders, but this one was bigger than any bug I've seen, it was a fully grown male with long tusks, never seen anything like it before.

[@zarkondamean]

My uncle used to use them as bait when trout fishing. Freaked me out when I was a kid.

[@johnnydjiurkopff]

Same, my grandad used to carry them in his lip to fishing holes like dip tobacco

[@GELTONZ]

One time I went to a 7-11 and saw a male one of these sitting in the bike rack. It wasn't moving, may have been dead, but I was like "WOW! THAT'S a terrifying insect!" and immediately had to look it up. I think anyone who sees one of these in the wild remembers it because THEY HUGE!

[@CarefulWithThatAxeEugene]

I have had 3 encountets with these ugly bugs and the first encounter one was sitting on my back porch and I touched it with a stretched wire hanger (didn't wanna get too close!) and it stayed there flapping its wings at me!! 😬 The second encounter I had I was attacked by a female while fishing off the river bank, I almost broke my fiancees arm trying to get away from it!! Third encounter I found one on my deck after I bought my house and it flew into my patio door coming right at me!! My cat tried to catch it but thank God glass was between us and IT. They are MEAN if they wanna be!

[@Col28]

I don't know that I've ever heard of dobsonflies. Should I be embarrassed by that fact? I think I'm too old to worry too much about being embarrassed by such things. :) Thanks for the video.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Naw. There are plenty of animals we've come across we haven't heard of, too! ;) Always more to learn. =)

[@cmillerpa33]

Never heard of them either. I think you are in the majority here.

[@gildedvulture7965]

I've only seen them twice my whole life. Once in adult form, once in larval form

[@mehameha4453]

As a son of an entomologist I unfortunately learned too much about insects. Had my first Dobson ( long pincered male) in the collection by the time I was 6 years old. It was nearly as big as my hand. They are of the same family as Alder flies. My worst problem is the things I know about are not polite dinner conversation. People think I am too quiet when in reality I don’t want to gross them out.

[@boonboom3528]

@@mehameha4453 you must have had an awesome childhood! Any recommendations for anything that would eat mosquitoes, flies and especially ticks! One that I could take with me camping and hiking lol

[@itsmapleman]

Lots of these on mango trees when I was a kid. Never ever touch one.

[@josephreynolds1220]

i found one of these on the exterior wall of the place i was staying, working a summer in the OBX. having never seen one, i gently touched her back, and the abdomen quickly shot out, in a scorpion arching style. i didnt know if she was packig a stinger, so i just settled for a few pics. i love bugs. wonder if a helgrimite could take a larval dragonfly?

[@cat_spit]

Love these guys! I've got three adult males and one female that I collected from a pesticide-sprayed area and preserved this summer and they're just super nifty. My SO hates 'em though, they give her the worst case of heebie jeebies I've ever seen. I've been forbidden from displaying my specimens until I can find a spot where she won't have to look at them.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

That's cool you have some! Hope you're able to display them soon!

[@darkzerothe1]

We get these hanging out on the wall outside work sometimes, not sure if it’s intentional but the big guys have good camouflage with the stonework. Luckily they look fearsome so most customers aren’t dumb enough to mess with em. I’ve never seen one move. They just sit there

[@GLamoRousCooKie]

One of these larvae crawled from underneath my kitchen sink while I was doing dishes - barefoot. Due to its' sheer size I immediately spotted it and all of my evolutionary instincts kicked in and I literally sprinted outside of my house. I returned 10 min later and it was gone. I slept poorly for almost a week after. That was 3 years ago so hopefully it met its' maker by now.

[@VNV67]

When I was living in West Virginia in the 50's and 60's I fished with these were the preferred bait for Bass, I caught more bass on the Hellgrammites than any other bait. But now they are getting hard to find there.

[@Poodleinacan]

They are being over-caught to be used as bait. That's the main reason why they aren't as common.

[@1597B]

@@Poodleinacan Good. *Let them perish.*

[@Poodleinacan]

@@1597B why? They look horrible, but they aren't a nuisance. They aren't parasites or anything.

[@jessefp1940]

Dude thanks so much for making these videos

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Thank you so much for watching them! =)

[@dickdastardly5534]

Impressive looking insect for certain and a good environment barometer.

[@kevinjohnson7300]

My neighbor posted a photo of one that was in Minneapolis, Minnesota I freaked out when I saw that picture!

[@fabianaguilar2133]

I saw one yesterday in my patio and I was curious as to what it was. It looked huge and I've never seen one before!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Lucky! I'm still waiting to see one in real life!!

[@djokicmetamora]

Here in Michigan in the warmer rivers we use them for smallmouth bass bait. One weird thing that you didn't cover was that they turn white. The old guy that introduced me to them said that was the last stage before molting? We use a minnow net between to broom sticks (like a goal post) and have the other person upstream rolling boulders towards the net. When he gets to the net we carefully lift up and normally get a few. We put them in a canister without water, they last until we are done fishing and put back what we don't use.

[@azza_weak]

The first time I learned of Dobsonflies was in a hotel room, it was full of moths so we were taking them out with a plastic cup and paper. Then spotted this random female dobsonfly that was bigger than the cup itself, managed to put her in it with a bit of the wing hanging out, but I could see her trying to bite my finger trought the transparent cup. Terrifying shit

[@benix4264]

I remember me and a buddy at church camp found one of these. We assumed it was some kind of mega ant. Had no idea what they were until recently

[@mineduck3050]

Just seeing that these things existed pretty much ruined parts of my childhood. You just can't look at nature the same after knowing these things are out there.

[@carlschnackel3051]

I hadn't thought about Hellgrammites since I was a kid, fishing in Montana. I do remember getting bit by then. Once I thought I was getting stung my a bee on the back of my neck and slapped at it, knocking it into the water. I noticed what it was and wanted to retrieve it to use it as bait, but a trout beat me to it.

[@jadenl629]

I have never heard of these giant insects before!😲 Great video and keep up the incredible work AFF!🥰

[@TheMrmoc7]

Found a dead one on my deck today, took a picture, searched the picture on google, and now I'm here.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Nice find! Too bad it was dead!

[@abelgirsh6440]

Catfish love these, they are great bait! Got many of them from NC creeks to fish with. They are tough as leather and stay on the hook. You can catch several fish with one. Be careful though, those pinchers ain't for looks. They will definitely draw blood! If you don't grip them right behind the head with your thumb and forefinger, you will be sorry!

[@VarangianGuard13]

When I was young I read "Animal Fact Files" they were files, printed on little two-sided pieces of paper.. It specifically focused on one animal, such as a Tapir or a Hellgrammite, giving helpful but broad information, as was befitting a low-impact source of information. I'm sure this has nothing to do with you, because you give a great deal of information and have taught me a great deal ❤️❤️❤️

[@terrapinflyer273]

Wow! That is amazing. I've seen one or two of these each year for the past two years in their adult form. They indeed look a bit putrid and fearsome. I feel sort of lucky to have spotted them though, knowing now that they only survive about a week in their adult form. Thanks for sharing! Just saw my first pleasing antlion this year in eastern MO. Also just started seeing these here over the past several years.

[@Watthead80]

Im 41 and have only seen one adult Dobsonfly in my life and that was in my senior year of highschool. We had a campsite on a river here in Illinois, we were camping one weekend and this giant bug comes flying in out of no where. We catch it, it looked like something from another planet. I took it to school the following Monday and showed it to my biology teacher, that's when he told me what it was. Such a great memory for just a single bug.

[@DamagedF0X]

I remember once delivering to a house that was infested with dobson flies around their front door. Probably the creepiest bug in the state of Texas second to giant water beetles.

[@superdarklink]

Holy shit, so that's what grandpa was talking about when he said hellgrammite! Come to think of it, I think I was bit by one of these once at the river...now it all makes sense

[@billbresnahan9949]

I used to work 3rd shift in a factory that was right along a swamp. We’d see hundreds of these during the summer months.. We called them bombers .. I used to have a badminton racket that I’d smash them with.. They don’t fly to well.. Their Hellgrammite larvae are fierce and have a heck of a bite.. Those we’d gather for fishing bait..

[@AgentCephalopod]

*New fear unlocked!* “The Dobsonfly”

[@robertspikes1376]

Oddly enough , I have 2 scars on my weiner from a hellgrammite bite ! Snatched my shorts off in front of my friends whole family to discover an alien looking worm clamped down.

[@woodhonky3890]

Daaayuum!

[@gregnutter4658]

Wgen I was in my early 20s a friend of mine introduced hellgermites. We would use a small net to get them out of a creek that we fished for small mouth bass. Great bait.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

That is awesome!

[@bradw.1945]

Lots of Grandfather stories here. Mine used to take a screen to the river to catch them for bait. He would pull them off the screen and put them in his hat.

[@T420-s3y]

Lived by a river for a year or so a few years back. It was a major breeding ground for these things every year. Imagine having a spotlight outside your house and seeing what look like small birds flying around it every night. Except then the next morning there weould be dozens of hell bugs latches to the side of your house and bite anythong that got near. Thats what it was like living near the ground zero for those things.

[@MrGudtavosky]

I lived by a river as a kid and the house was always infested by them. We used to call them invincibles because no matter how much we hit them, they would always walk away like it was nothing

[@johnnygoins7457]

I used to go along the river banks in Arizona and look under rocks in the morning and collect them for fish bait.caught some nice fish back in the day.

[@jamesphillipshort]

My late father told me about these bugs in the woolen mill. How they would fly into the hanging light fixtures. He brought one home in a glass jar one day. Damn thing was huge!

[@zacharybartolo5111]

Only ever seen one of these! A dead one I found in a parking lot. It had big pincers and looked like the unholy offspring of a beetle, dragonfly, and earwig. I spent like five minutes just looking at it because, as someone that caught bugs when he was little, I was super fascinated in something I had never seen before.

[@itsnotabanana2524]

There were 2 things I had an issue with. 1, the females do not have a bite string enough to draw blood. They do nor biht hard. Also, they live in north amarica too as I had one get into my bedroom at 1am, fly into my forehead, and got stuck in my glasses.

[@roberthensley8653]

Used them from creeks in northern California for native trout.

[@rodm.thehollerhound4624]

Growing up in West Virginia. We called them helgramites and or Grampus. We used them as fish bait. Thanks for the imfo.

[@Ronzeru]

Here because I found a adult male and female together outside my window. And those things were so huge, I thought they were bats lol

[@shaneosborne5426]

I caught a couple of these out back we have a pond and I know the larvae can kill small fish. Our population has decreased a ton over the years I think factors include carp taking away hiding places for lil fish, a heron that comes around every summer, these lil hell spawns, a muskrat I have yet to catch, and decrease in depth as it’s fed from a field run off and silts filling it quickly I assume.

[@Dragonbleps]

I THINK I saw one outside my house tonight, but I'm not sure. I live in Florida but have never seen one before, and it was dark. This insect had 4 wings and had a long, heavy body that hung downwards when it flew. Does this sound like a Dobsonfly?

[@AnimalFactFiles]

It's definitely possible! They can be found in Florida and they do have four wings!!

[@kentuckywildcatgobigblue7190]

One of these big creepy critters got caught in a spiderweb on my porch. The spider literally hoped out of there. Wouldn't even touch it. Scared the crap out of me and my mom. No idea what it was. It did get out of the web and flew off but still...scary.

[@jchast1980]

I found one of these in 1989 in Tionesta, PA. Had no clue what it was until now.

[@LEXICOGRAFFER]

Upstate NY 1950's my Dad would buy Helgrammites at our local bait store for bass fishing....very expensive....5 cent apiece!

[@KittyKraftStudio]

I turned over a random rock by a creek today and found a pupa, hecking creepy. It looked like the one at 1:58. Squishy and the wings were just starting to come in.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Whoa that's a great find!

[@ribunny123]

Saw a picture of one that creeped me out so i decided to look them up so that i could instead appreciate them. Still creepy looking and i wouldnt wanna have to hold one, but very cool creatures. Thanks for the video!

[@atomicdog71]

Fished with these many times as a kid. Easy to find on the river bank. Flip over a rock or two, and usually your find one (or more) pretty quick. I had always heard the adults referred to as a "Flying grampus". It's interesting to read the comments, and see the variety of names people had for them.

[@markop.1994]

Years ago at my mothers cabin, one of the was flyin at me in the middle of the night in when i went to the bathroom and i smacked the shit out of it. Had no clue what it was. Naturally i was terrified, and now years later i see this and am just as terrified

[@XXxCHRISxXX]

This is an awesome river bait. I have used these for years fishing specifically for trout ,bass,but almost anything will bite. I've caught numerous fish on one. I always called them Grampis.

[@breadbeater2853]

I first saw one of these after coming into my house in Michigan. I felt a tickle on my leg and looked down and saw a huge one of these hanging onto the bottom of my pant leg. scared the crap out of me lmao

[@snakekeeper2073]

This is a great flamethrower advertisement.

[@joshriver75]

Helgramites were always super easy to find under rocks at the ole fishin spot. But I have only seen a Dobsonfly 1 time in my entire life, 35 years ago.

[@cgivensldr]

Found one of these the other day. Now i know what it is. Thank you!

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Ooh nice find! Glad you were able to figure out what is was!

[@willyc3094]

I live on the coast so it’s beaches more often than rivers for me, but I found a helgramite crawling on a rock when I was a kid. Was never able to id what it was but it scared the shit out of me and made me scared to walk on anything submerged in water besides sand lol

[@chasewebb9539]

I love catching them. Not as adults tho lol. Good bait for fish

[@Aflay1]

I was about to say, the larvae look amazing for bait. Wouldn’t wanna get bit though.

[@doggehquack]

One of these landed on my window screen one morning and I woke up and looked out the window. I thought it was some sort of gigantic flying ant and all I could think was "I totally need to catch that thing!" I'm glad I didn't though because I'm pretty sure that one could've hurt me. I still have a picture on my phone of it. It was bigger than my hand!

[@daerth4423]

We always called the larval stage "devils". They're awesome fishing bait.

[@faithbaker2385]

They hurt like neck but are good fish bait. I remember them as a kid in WVa.

[@jamesmccreery250]

The larva stage are great bait, but they get prickly if you hold more than three in your mouth at a time.

[@Liquid_Mike]

I saw one of these dead on a rock in a stream when I was a kid, and I've never forgotten to this day..

[@jeromedavid7944]

Back in the day 60's, 70's, and 80's we used to go to the riffles in the South Branch of the Potomac River(yeah the one George threw the silver dollar across) which were shallow enough to wade vs row across in the early summer. One of us would overturn the large rocks that create the riffles while another would be below with a net to catch any of them hiding under the stone. An aptly placed barbed hook up through the bottom of his neck collar meant for many casts and several catches on just one! I now live in the county I grew up in(walking distance to the North Branch of the Potomac)after a decade away for military service. Through ancestry archives I found out I've had a direct relative living in this county continuously since 1803. So how long my ancestors and relatives have been use this type of bait is hard to say. But it was always one of my favorite for small mouth bass and maybe even a small pike or muskee if you got real lucky!

[@brycecharles3856]

A surveyor and I came across one when it was a larva and it was biting a frog. Henceforth we called it a 4 legged frog latched...I know they have more. Those things bite badly too

[@drumeaterking]

me and a buddy were drunk one night in appalachia, we had a phone light under a waterbottle as a makeshift lantern. we heard a flapping sound, disregarded it, and then one of these big bois buzzed both our heads and landed on my buddies chest. we had no idea what it was and freaked the hell out. good night

[@wandamoser7909]

We call them grampers here in the south. They have quite the pincers. We use them for fish bait.

[@chrisbagidney152]

Once our yard flooded so we caught a bunch of the larvae. We put them and a leopard frog under a red solo cup and they tore that frog up bad. Visious creatures for sure!

[@josephkaple8923]

Many of these insects have fallen prey to me through the years as they are the best Bait for fishing.

[@KennethCannon-f6r]

turkey river in iowa wondering what these creatures are that i was finding under the rocks.some almost 3 inches and i think i am seeing them from tiny .25 inches and all in between the smaller the more common

[@ryancole4893]

I just felt something crawl on me.

[@MarcusRefusius]

Here in the Southern Sierra, Hellgramite Larva are the best Trout bait EVER.

[@danthedewman1]

Have quite a few around my property. I've seen both sexes around the house outside, having year round springs near the house helps.

[@AnimalFactFiles]

Oh wow! Sounds like a lovely piece of land!

[@krioswordsmith1017]

i live in southern ontario, middle of no where, near a swamp. it was 4 AM, i was just sitting in my room, reading a book, when i hear something banging against my window, i swear to the gods i thought it was a bird it was so loud, also it's not uncommon for birds to sometimes bang against that window, i go up to look. it was not a bird, it was a massive insect, about the size of my hand, looking like a cross between a praying mantis, a dragonfly, and a coke induced nightmare. i watched it for just a moment, in that moment, while i felt a phobia form within me, i had 3 thoughts cross my mind, first, i thought the world was ending, this is how it goes, giant fucking bugs. second, i knew this was ridiculous, and it was likely some invasive species from the amazon or something that had made it's way up here, some how. and third, i realised the bottom of the window was open, and there was a large hole in my screen. so at that point i did what any calm, rational, 6'3, barrel chested bearded man would do, i calmly walked to my bedroom door, turned off the light, (I figured it was attracted to the light), and went to the bathroom that had no windows in it, then curled up beside the toilet and quietly held myself in the fetal position waiting until morning. i found out about a week later what i saw was a female Dodson fly. that night will forever be the night i first felt true fear.