I just found one of these last night. I too, didn't know what it was. I told my son that it looked like something prehistoric. Thanks for the info. I'm going to see if i can find a nature center that wants it.
Dobsonfly, male by: Moni
Shannon
Your photo is of a dobsonfly male. The females do not have the long 'pincers', but can bite or pinch more effectively than the males.
These insects are found near fast flowing streams so there must be one near by. The adults come to lights at night. Adults do not feed.
Larvae are aquatic predators, living in streams. Two-three years are spent in larval stage, at end of this time larvae crawl out of stream and form a pupal cell under a log, rock, etc. and then overwinter. Adults emerge spring to summer.
These are found thru out the eastern half of North America.
Perhaps you can share it with a local nature center or school for others to see.
Here are some photos of adults and larvae -
http://bugguide.net/node/view/4872/bgimage
