As of: April 7, 2024, 5:21 a.m
By: Yannick Hanke
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Cyprus holidaymakers beware: Things are currently going wild on the popular island in the Mediterranean. Uninvited guests cause a lot of horror.
Nicosia – The idea of a holiday on the Mediterranean probably has a lot of positive associations for many people. Pleasant temperatures, lots of sun, countless swimming opportunities, good food - and the escape from everyday life is a success. It's just stupid if animal "guests" have something against it.
Giant bugs increasingly discovered in Cyprus – vacation on popular Mediterranean island in danger?
This refers to giant bugs (Lethocerus patruelis), which researchers have increasingly discovered in Cyprus. So the Greek-Turkish island, which is becoming increasingly popular as a holiday destination among Germans. The animals, also known as water bugs, can grow to an impressive twelve centimeters long - making them one of the largest bugs in the world.
Lethocerus patruelis, the giant bug, is being spotted more and more frequently in popular holiday regions on the Mediterranean. © imago
They originally come from Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, Pakistan, India and Burma. Both the tropics and the subtropics are their main distribution area. But now the giant bugs are also appearing in holiday regions on the Mediterranean. How can that be?
Giant bugs kill their prey with their stinging proboscis and saliva - stings are also painful for humans
Researchers were first made aware of the giant bugs through images on social media. The scientists recently presented their evidence in the
Journal of Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History
.
It is said here that giant bugs are good swimmers and flyers. They usually stay at the bottom of water and hunt invertebrates, fish, frogs, turtles and even birds. They would use their stinging proboscis to inject saliva into their captured prey. This would lead to anesthesia and the victim would dissolve from the inside. And such a sting could also be quite painful for people.
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“You shouldn’t worry”: Expert gives the all-clear on giant bugs
The all-clear was immediately given by Kemal Basat, director of the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute. “People who go to beaches should not worry that this insect will be there and bite their toes,” the expert told the
Cyprus Mail
. An encounter with a giant shark on a dream Mediterranean beach is likely to be much more painful.
“The insect is found on the beaches of the east coast of the island, but it does not bite human toes,” says Basat. Especially in the evening, the giant bugs would come ashore and then fly around. They are particularly attracted to light sources during the mating season. The researchers suspect that the bugs flew to Cyprus from the neighboring mainland - and were attracted to the lights of the Mediterranean island.
Giant bugs are also spreading in Europe - the consequences for local fauna are said to be minimal
Whether in Italy, Greece or European Turkey: specimens of giant bugs have been spotted again and again in recent years. According to experts, the negative consequences for the local fauna should be relatively small. After all, many of the insect's natural predators would live on the island. This ensures biological control.
(han)