Palo Verde Beetle

     This scary monster was in my courtyard this morning.   Not this particular one, but one exactly like him.   Except mine was bigger.  Much bigger.
       The photo was found in the article about Palo Verde Beetles on Wikipedia.   I am much too smart to stand close to a huge bug just to get its picture. 
       Apparently the beetles love to eat Palo Verde trees.  We have a Palo Verde in our front yard, but I'm convinced my Palo Verde Beetle eats anything that gets in his way.   After all, he was in my courtyard, not under the tree.  
       What happened was this:   I had walked out of the courtyard early this morning to get the newspaper.  When I started back into the courtyard, he was guarding the entrance and wouldn't let me come back in.   Apparently he had been hiding under some leaves near one of the pots, then stepped out into the open.   That meant I had walked right past him on the way out of the courtyard!!!
       He was at least 5 inches long (they can grow even bigger according to Wikipedia) and about two inches across.   He had huge pincher thingies, too.   
       Arizona has its own version of "stand your ground", but I'm no fool.  I ran to the back porch.
       When I told Kent what was lurking outside, he said it was a Palo Verde Beetle.   At that time I only knew it was a huge bug.  One I had never seen before.   He told me that our neighbor said she had seen a Palo Verde Beetle in her yard the other day, and this was probably the same one.   A quick Google search confirmed the ID.   
       I sure hope this beetle moves on to another neighborhood and stays there.   I don't want to see him again.