The Enormous Prionus Root Borer Beetle!

Last night I let the dogs out to do their business before bed, and as I went to close the door, I nearly put my hand on the biggest beetle I've ever seen in my life! [Insert lots of horrified expletives as I leaped back in shock] This guy was literally about 3" in length, and would you just LOOK at those antennae!?!! WOWY ZOWY, HOLY COWY!!! The second I saw it, I ran upstairs to told Steve to come down instantly and look what was on the front door...lol...he creeped over to the door and...[insert more amazed expletives from him :D :D]! While he was staring in amazement, I put the macro flash on my camera and I took pictures! I wanted to have the option of making this my Picture of the Day, so I checked back after midnight, and it was still there! I took more pictures, and this morning it had flown away.

I discovered that this is a Prionus Root Borer, and it's one of the largest beetles in the Western North America (um, no surprise there! :D). These beetles play a very important role in helping to decompose old logs but they also diminish the value of salvage timber with the holes that they burrow into the wood. (Thanks to Leapfrog Art for helping to point me in the right direction on identifying the species!)

If you would like to know more about these huge beetles, I found a very informative page here: Wikipedia: Prionus Root Borer Beetle