I found this massive long-horned beetle in my yard just as I was heading out to look for butterflies along the trails in my neighborhood. At almost 5 cm in length I think this may be the largest beetle I have ever seen. I won't lie, I thought it was hideous and felt a bit intimidated by it. It turned my stomach a bit and I hesitated to get close so I could take photos of it. At one point I ended up running off to take cover after it postured itself for flight. I wanted no chance that it would fly in my direction or land on me! Still, I wanted to get some photos so I could figure out what it was and now I know it is quite harmless. It's just very large!
