I'm in Albuquerque, NM, zone 7. The Chicada thing is a possibility too
as they are here in numbers often, however I've not seen many in the
last 10+ years. They sure are annoying when they land on you, and noisy
too. Wife had one get in her hair once years ago and I thought she was
going to go totally insane trying to get it out of her hair.

Whatever they are they sure are UGLY looking! I'm assuming that neither
(beetle or chicada) would be bad for the compost pile.

wrote:


Don't know where you are from, but have seen news reports on the 17
year cicada maturing this year. They would be about the size you
describe and starting to surface this spring and summer.

The compost pile will attract earthworms, grubs, sow bugs, and insects
that help in reducing course vegetation to compost. If your compost
pile is too "cool" add some green material (green leaves or grass
clippings) or nitrogen to help heat it up. However it is early and
the warmth will attract the above (usually around the edges and
deeper)