Well, thanks to all who responded I carried this creature in the waste basket through my back field, through the apple orchards and to the creek down back as that is the nearest place where there was water and mud for it to hibernate safely. Sure hope no more come this far away from water again. That creek is about 1/4 mile away.

I don't beleive it. I just found a bug just like this one. It was in my garage. I live in Massachusetts. I'm so glad now to find out what it is. I did handle it by the sides. Luckily, I didn't get bit. Sounds painful.

Check out my bug picture. It is titled Garage Visitor.

These fly between bodies of water, and will sometimes get sidetracked by our lights and end up in yards and parking lots where they aren't really at home. I'm not sure if they are sometimes actually drawn out of the water by the lights. Anyway, I wanted to add that the bites, while perhaps not dangerous, do hurt - a lot, and cause an inflamation that may last several days. They inject a fluid that is designed to paralize and perhaps liquify the insides of smaller prey, and it is not pleasant to get this in a foot or finger. So, they are not evil, not particularly dangerous, but they can be an unpleasant experience. Also, they are really cool!

in the genus Lethocerus, I think, judging by its size (which should be measured not including legs, however). It might bite in self-defense, and the bite would be painful, but you're not its usual prey, so carefully relocating to its preferred damp habitat would be a fine option. Click on the genus name above for more info.