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Last night and tonight, I heard things bumping into the side of my house (sounded like small rocks).

Last night, I saw some creatures flying around, but didn't get a good look.

Tonight, there are 5 or 6 of them on my screen door, just sitting there. They are about 2 inches long and appear menacing (that last part might just be me).

The pictures I took below aren't great, but based on the above, and given that I'm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, can you identify this hideous species?

Note: these are the original pictures: equalizing/normalizing them might or might not help identify the creatures.

enter image description here

enter image description here

Slightly contrasted/brightened version:

Slightly contrasted/brightened version

Turin-shroud-like inversion:

Turin-shroud-like inversion

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Try taking a photo from more far away (so your camera can actually focus...) from outside (so we can actually see the insect) with a reference (e.g. a centimeter, for what we know those could be 3m long) and maybe with some more light. OK, now I'll stop complaining :D – nico Jul 23 '12 at 5:43
I've added some variants, but I'm not CSI (making it bigger doesn't make it clearer!). Additionally, I put my inexpert vote on Cockroach. – Stuart Pegg Jul 23 '12 at 13:04
Thanks @nico. More far away I can do. Outside would require confronting the creatures, which I'm not prepared to do. They're about 2 inches long. They're gone this morning, but I can try to shine more light on them (from inside!) when they reappear tonight. – barrycarter Jul 23 '12 at 13:31
They look vaguely like stick insects of some sort, but the pictures are so indefinite it's impossible to tell. The edited versions don't make it any clearer imho. – Richard Smith Jul 23 '12 at 13:38
@RichardSmith: Nah, there's not a lot to see. It's more obvious that there's a long sixth leg at the top in the inverted version, and hence that both front legs might be a bit longer. It also looks like the rear two feet are quite wide. The odd shapes up and a little right (or left in the first photo) of the head might be an unretracted or moving wing reflecting a little light. – Stuart Pegg Jul 23 '12 at 14:24
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closed as not a real question by Mad Scientist♦ Jul 24 '12 at 10:55

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