dobsonfly

/dob"seuhn fluy'/, n., pl. dobsonflies.

a large, soft-bodied insect, Corydalus cornutus, having four distinctly veined membranous wings, biting mouthparts, and, in the male, huge mandibles that jut out from the head. Cf. hellgrammite.

[1900-05; after surname Dobson; see FLY²]

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Any insect of the family Corydalidae with four net-veined wings, found in North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa.

The species Corydalus cornutus has a wingspread of about 5 in. (13 cm), and the male has very large jaws (mandibles) of about 1 in. (2.5 cm) or more. Females lay eggs near streams. Larvae live in the streams and, with their strong biting mouthparts, are ferocious predators on other aquatic insects and small invertebrates. Sometimes called hellgrammites or toebiters, they can inflict painful bites on humans; they are eaten by fish, especially bass, and are used as bait by fishermen.

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▪ insect

also called  fishfly  

      any of a group of insects (order Megaloptera) that are usually large and have four net-veined wings of similar size and shape. Dobsonflies are found in North and South America, Asia, Australia, and Africa.

      Corydalus cornutus is a large insect with a wingspread of about 13 cm (5 inches). The jaws (or mandibles) are considerably larger in the male than in the female and are characteristic of the insect's sexual dimorphism. They may exceed 2.5 cm (1 inch) in the male. Females lay up to about 3,000 eggs in whitish clusters near streams. After the eggs hatch, the young larvae crawl to the water and mature there in two or three years. The larvae are blackish in colour and live beneath stones in rapidly flowing streams. Large, older larvae may be up to 8 cm (3.15 inches) long and have strong biting mouthparts and are ferocious predators on other aquatic insects and small invertebrates. They can also inflict painful bites on humans. Mature larvae migrate from their freshwater habitat to wet soil, moss, or decaying vegetation near the water to form pupal cells from which adults emerge. The larvae, sometimes known as hellgrammites, or toebiters, are eaten by fish, especially bass, and are used as bait by fishermen. Megaloptera larvae also are important as biotic environmental indicators due to their high intolerance of water pollution.

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