Try swimming with 100 eggs on your back and you’ll soon respect the giant water bug for being a great dad. Although most giant water bugs lay eggs on underwater objects, the female of some species sticks her fertilized eggs in rows across the male’s back. (The waterproof glue she produces is just right for the job.) But all those eggs on a bug’s back make swimming slow and flying impossible. What’s worse, the mother bug just takes off, leaving the dad to struggle along as a single parent.

For ten days or so, he carries the eggs everywhere he goes. He spends most of his time deep in the water, but he often takes the eggs to the surface, rocking back and forth to air them. Frequently, he uses his back legs to stroke the eggs, checking each row from front to back. All this care — airing and stroking — seems to protect the eggs from a fungus that can kill the young bugs, which are forming inside.

Using his grasping front legs and sharp beak, a giant water bug also tries to protect the eggs — and himself — from predators. He will tackle enemies bigger than he is. After all, this is an insect that can attack and feed on fish several times its size. The bug may even nip the toes of a wader. That’s why it’s sometimes called the “toe biter”.

The giant water bug performs his duties as a dad so well that almost all of the eggs hatch. When the big day comes, he hangs around at the surface of the water. He dips his body each time a tiny bug scrambles out of its egg. That way, it can slip easily into the water and set off on its own life.

Originally published in YES Mag #15, Autumn 1999