The millenium bug is real, but it cannot be found in computers. Insect scientists can use water striders to monitor the quality of fresh water. Found in mountain streams of southeast Queensland and northeast New South Wales, this insect is presently known to exist at only eight localities in that region. About two millimetres long, it lives on the surface of the water in quiet areas of freshwater streams.
Insects are very fine instruments for indicating the biological health of their environment.
Forest stream near Kenilworth, Queensland is the type of quiet freshwater stream where the Millenium Bug might be found. Bugs from the Veliidae family are often found in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and occur on many oceanic islands. Relatives are the only insects to inhabit the surface of the open oceans. The study of the Millennium Bug and its relatives is part of a much larger project to study the most diverse group of animals associated with water surfaces. So far we have scientifically described fewer than a third of the insect species on this continent.