I saw two of these beetles (?)together on a bush in my back yard. They are about an inch long and are very unconcerned with close human approach. They have pinchers on the front. They are a very vivid orange color. It looks to me as though they have been removing the bark from this bush. I looked all around for more of these guys but they seemed to be the only two. I've never seen this type of beetle before in the Rio Grande Valley. What is it?

2-20: Thanks to the those you who posted comments. Today, the beetles are still in approximately the same location, engaged in the same activity---quite happily it appears! Here are a couple of additional pictures (even though these guys have been identified). One shows what I believe to be a large cluster of eggs just below the beetles on the trunk of the bush, the other shows one of the two holes on the trunk---could this be a bee hole, since these "large ears" are known to be parasitic on certain bees? I don't see any bee activity anywhere near or around the holes. Also, the beetles still appear to me to be eating the bark off the trunk...what do you think?