Tiny vampire bugs devour turtles and snakes by sucking their insides out alive

(Credit: Shin-ya Ohba)

Tiny water bugs are one of nature's deadliest predators devouring frogs, turtles, ducks and even venomous snakes, stunned scientists have discovered.

A shocking new study revealed the fearless four-inch aquatic vampire-like "monsters" regularly take on and eat creatures up to ten times their size.

They are what's known as “lie-and-wait predators,” said Charles Swart, a senior lecturer at Trinity College in Connecticut who has studied the killer insects for years.

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“They just take up a position holding onto a plant in the water, and anything that moves in front of them, they’ll grab it and try to eat it,” he said.

The amazing new research -  published in the latest edition of the journal Entomological Science -  takes a closer look at the hunting skills of the bugs.

The largest of the 150 species -  Lethocerus grandis and Lethocerus maximus - are found in South America and have an incredible appetite.

(Credit: Shin-ya Ohba)

Study author Shin-ya Ohba, associate entomology professor at Japan's Nagasaki University, says the bugs are super strong - despite their tiny size.

He said their front legs are "Popeye" like and the bugs have even been known to use their incredible power to take down a turtle.

Once prey comes within reach, the predators quickly snap their front legs tight and grasp the creature with their other legs.

They then pierce their prey with a dagger-like proboscis, injecting enzymes and possibly toxins into their unfortunate victims, reports the National Geographic.

Swart, who wasn’t involved in the latest study, added: “They break down the tissue and then they suck it back up.”

(Credit: Shin-ya Ohba)

In larger prey, this can take several hours for at least part of which the poor victim will still be alive.

This story originally appeared in The Sun.