What did I just find?

[Macano]

Been a few years since I posted here. I kept mantids for several years in the past. Had a career change, and a cross country move, and in the process gave it up. So I'm quite out of the loop, I guess you could say. Anyway, on to the issue at hand:

Found this little fella tonight, in Houston, TX. He's very small, 1/2 inch at the most.

Sorry for the low light, best I could do tonight. When the suns out tomorrow, maybe I'll try for a better one. He' so small and fragile I don't really want to handle him anymore, though.

Edit: On further inspection, I don't think it's even a mantid. It appears to have full wings already, and it looks like it has a 'beak' like mouth. So I suspect it may be a mantid mimic. Any ideas?

 

[Andrew]

Probably some sort of carnivorous hemipteran. An assassin bug of sorts, put simply. Maybe someone else will be able to offer something more specific.

 

[Morpheus uk]

Yep thats not a mantis but a thread legged bug, a kind of assassin bug, they have raptorial arms like mantids.

Think they often like to sit near spider webs so they can nick thier prey :lol:

 

[Macano]

Think I've figured it out:

Emesaya brevipennis

Seems to be the closest match based on photos.

Thanks guys.