[FrostedOne]

At work last night, my co-worker and I noticed a very large and intersting insect. It was well out of reach, prehaps 14-17' above our heads, but in a lighted area. It was resting, like it was diurnal (is that a word... like it was a day creature). It seemed sluggish and unresponsive to stimulation (my co-work was trying to knock it down with a pole).

I live in West Virginia, I'm 26 years old, and I have never seen an insect in this region (or any) like this, but I am sure someone has seen one, somewhere. I have been searching the internet for any link to a database and/or photo library (of insects), but I fear none exists on the internet.

My co-worker managed to scare it off with the pole, so we do not have it for referance. I made a scetch of it a few hours after we first seen the creature, but it is not very detailed, or very accurate. I am sure I could ID the alien from a photo, but memories get fuzzy with time. The sooner I find out what this thing is, the better I will feel. If anyone could recommend a good resource for identifying insects, I would appreciate it.

I will describe it, just to let you know what I am looking for:
* It was every bit of 6" in length, likely 7".
* Dark brown or black coloration, prehaps mottled black and brown, but very dark.
* Long like a Preying Mantis, with similar shape.
* Large wings. Exposed like a fly; external.
* It was straight, not perked-up like a mantis in waiting, w/ a low profile. It did not hold itself up with its legs... prehaps only a resting position.
* It had large "tusk-like" appendages that, while resting (before we disturbed it), were angled at 90 degrees, pointing outward from its body. After it was disturbed, its "tusks" were moved to a forward position, appearing to be pincers or elephant tusks. The "tusks" were very similar to those on some beetle species (rino. Beetles).
* It moved slowly when engaged by the end of the pole, and it flew away with a somewhat awkward and slow, but deliburate flight path...

I think that's about it. Any help would be appreciated.

[FrostedOne]

It belongs to the genus Corydalus. It seems to be at the VERY large end of the scale, but everything else is a prefect match, from looks to environment!