I am pretty sure it's a true bug (i.e., I am not being sloppy by calling just any ole' insect a bug). I got as close as I could with my iPhone, but the lighting was bad. This is on my porch and the bug is really large - about 1 inch in length of the body.
So, what is it?
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Actually, I think it might be a bat. Cover your hair. Bats will fly into your hair.
Fred. That bug looks like a Fred to me. Or maybe a Mabel.
It's one of Assassin Bug Family members and you certainly don't want to mess with it. We have them a bunch here.
I agree with Tanja. It looks like Fred there has likely assassinated a rival bug from a prominent family and is looking for a place to lay low.
Just be cool, Coturnix, be cool.
I'm not expert, but that looks more like what we call a giant stink bug. The size is right, as are those distinctively shaped rear legs. I don't know whether it's a "true" stink bug though. (Or even if "stink bugs" is a valid grouping, for that matter.)
It's a leaf-footed bug (Order Hemiptera), hard to tell the genus from your pictures, but Family Coreidae.
Adrian Thysse is correct.
It's a leaf-footed bug (Coreidae), probably in the genus Leptoglossus.
Pictures are too blurry to identify to species.
It is indeed a coreid bug. We get a lot of those little cuties around our home every summer and fall, and are extremely fond of them. If you annoy it slightly (try prodding it gently with your finger) it will probably emit an odor like strong vinegar.
It is in fact a true bug. It has a sharp proboscis that is used for puncturing other insects and will cause a most painful "bite" if you should happen to get one in your trousers. It is a leaf foot bug, also called an assassin bug. Most likely it is Leptoglossus oppositus, but it is a blurry photo.
And that is all from the entomological community :)
That thing is fucking scary!
At first, I thought it was an assassin bug, but then that's probably because I watched that silly guy let one bite him on "Bite Me" on the Travel Channel the other day. Apparently the assassin bug can cause Chagas disease because of bacteria that are excreted with its poo as it gorges itself on a host -the bacteria come in contact with the wound created by the proboscis when it pulls out and treads across.
But then I remembered a site I came across once that lets you search by photo. Like rangerjen posted above, I came up with Leptoglossus phyllopus -a true bug and member of the same order as the assassin bug.
I think most of the Chagas cases from assassin bites occur in Central & South America.
Anyway, here's the site and worth the bookmark when you want to find a particular bug: http://bugguide.net/node/view/93