Need ID please for two ugly critters friend or foe?

Leander, TX(Zone 8a)

I found one of these critters on my butterfly bush the other on my azalea. Are these harmful if so how to get rid of them..Thank you so much for your help

Thumbnail by kountrykitten
Leander, TX(Zone 8a)

and this one

Thumbnail by kountrykitten
Garner, NC(Zone 7b)

The first one looks like a cicada. What you seem to have is the leftover exoskeleton from its last molt. Cicadas won't eat your plants. I have the beetles in your bottom post...can't remember the name of them. They have those big pinchers and might give you a bite if you mess with them, but I can't remember ever having a plant eating type problem with them.. I'm sure you'll get better info soon.

Winter Haven, FL(Zone 9b)

Yeah, I believe the first one is a cicada as well. I have lived in Florida from birth and one sound I love is sitting out on a porch on a nice summer evening and hearing the cicadas singing the Summer Night away.

Sinks Grove, WV

The beetle is a male stag beetle (Coleoptera: Lucanidae). They are harmless to plants; their larvae usually are found in rotting wood and the adults, if they feed at all, may lap up sap oozing from tree wounds or the liquid from overripe fruit. Although the jaws of males look fearsome, they are capable of little more than pinching. The females (see http://tinyurl.com/ltjrew for an example) have much shorter and stronger jaws, and can draw blood if handled carelessly.

Garner, NC(Zone 7b)

Yeah..Stag Beetle! Thanks for that..it was um..er...'bugging' me, but apparently not enough to look it up, lol!

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