Insect and Spider Identification: CLOSED: Unkown insect with terrifying death grip on my bee, 1 by somde

somde wrote:
I will really appreciate it if someone can help me identify this insect. I have tried searching through the usual lists, but have failed. I found this insect near my bee hive (in Massachusetts), strongly grasping one of my poor bees that was very near death. I initially thought that it was some sort of mantis (maybe a baby one?) but have not been able to confirm that. When I picked it up, it was extremely chill and not frightened at all. It is a very beautiful insect and I was really hoping to learn more about it. Thanks again