Giant insect name?

This summer I heard one of those big flying insects go by, I would like to know what they are. My friend calls them “beezers”, but my google-fu is weak.

I saw one a number of years ago in south-west New Mexico, not too far from Deming. Its body was 4~5 inches long (I was about forty feet away, so I have to estimate), wide in front (maybe as much as two inches) tapering to a rounded end. Solid Kraft caramel color with, obviously, large wings that were somewhat colorful but mostly black. It was hovering over a thistle blossom, which offered the only frame of reference for estimating its size. These things make a lot of noise flying by.

Does anyone know what these things are?

IANAE (I am not an entomologist)

Hmmm, try doing a google ‘image search’ for cicada, and see if you can spot a match.

4-5 inches long? Hovering over a flower? New Mexico?

Did it look anything like this?

I’m going to guess that was an over-estimation. Any of these look familiar? My best guess would be a wasp or moth, even though you appear to be describing a beetle.

Thanks, that helps a lot. It appears to have been a sphinx moth of some sort (probably tersa or vine), which do get that big and some fly during the day.

picture

Don’t discount this post as a joke. Hummingbirds in NM do look an awful lot like giant bugs rather than small birds.

In San Diego, we had enormous beetles that flew and made a loud buzzing noise. To my knowledge, they didn’t hover over flowers (but did sound a lot like hummingbirds when they buzzed you). I’m not sure what they are called, but at a guess figeater beetles. The picture doesn’t look like my memory of them, but since my memory is mostly concerned with hitting the ground while screaming in terror, it’s possible I didn’t observe closely. (Edit: this link does look like my memory of them.)

Me? No. But hummingbirds hum, these things make a noise like they are beating the air. I think the large dragonflies around here make a similar noise.

Probably a Palo Verde Borer.