What is this insect I found?

[AffableAtheist]

I found this north of San Antonio, TX. I got to watch it as it crawled out of its old exoskeleton. It was this color immediately after emerging, and then steadily changed to jet black over the course of a few hours. What is it?

[Anormalguy]

oh dear, intresting o.o
Never seen anything much like that.
Perhaps some kind of relative to Grasshopper
And it looks like it's got a Venus Fly Trap on its back..wow..

[February Beetle]

Wheel bug,
AWESOME pictures!!!

These are awesome pictures, it is now an adult because of the wings!
Arilus cristatus I am not sure if I spelled the species name correctly.
It is a type of Assassin Bug in the Hemiptera true bugs family.

[Ken Ramos]

Be careful with or around these bugs. Their rostrum can inject a powerful tissue dissolving toxin, quite painful from what I can gather and if you happen to be allergic to bee stings, it can produce the same reaction thereof. In some species, they can release a stream of toxin from the rostrum, maybe reaching about one foot in distance and it can cause skin irritation and temporary blindness if introduced into the eyes.

[February Beetle]

Yeah, I think you will be okay as long as you don't grab it. I don't think they are aggressive but Ken Ramos is right to be careful!