But you know, the sheer size of that thing actually got me thinking about library policy… I wonder if the library has any rules against bringing found critters into the building. A curious patron could just as easily bring in a Brown Recluse spider or even a Copperhead snake.

No one believes me when I tell them librarians have dangerous jobs.

I searched through our local fauna books and many of the sites you checked. Turns out, however, the easiest solution was calling the state university extension service (Oregon, in this case). I told the woman where I was and describing the beetle, and she knew right away what it was. Damn, those people know their stuff.

Thank heavens I have a cat who enjoys “playing” with bugs until they, um, expire. I encounter far fewer live ones these days.

And I’m also the kind of person that will move bugs and spiders outside instead of killing them (not that that is really doing them any favors, I know), but the electric blue trick deserves some consideration. Hmm…