Research Grade Species #1255: Orthosoma brunneum
Prionids (Subfamily Prioninae) make up about 350 species of big, long beetles whose larvae chew their way through rotten wood. The group includes the longest beetles on earth (Titanus giganteus) and the one I found at a gathering at my friends' house, Orthosoma brunneum. Actually, they found it, and gently covered it so that it would still be around when I arrived, which is a very nice thing to do for someone who loves insects.This species is pretty darn big, as insects in New England go: two inches long, from mandibles to tip of abdomen.
Identification is easy--few other beetle species in my area are as big, and this one has the perfectly parallel abdominal margins that earned it the genus name "Orthosoma." The species name just means brown, a color pretty popular in the animal kingdom, but that doesn't narrow it down much anyway, as this is the only species in the genus. Since they are attracted to lights, most people encounter them at the porch at night, or like most of my friends, at the illuminated sheet on moth night.
Big peeper for seeing at night, big mandibles to give you such a pinch, enormous antennae for...huh I dunno--probably for sniffing out mates and host trees?
Nice parallel lines there