Art
According to one of my books the Brown Mantidfly, Climaciella brunnea
has a range including the Eastern and Southeastern states. I think there
are other species as well that would not be out of their range where you
are.

Art Weil wrote:

> Dear Erich;-
>     At last a name I can pin on my sighting. Mantidfly. Now then; I
> live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have never seen one of these insects
> before and I am a fairly keen observer. Are they rare? Is this the
> edge of their range? Did this one get lost? Dr. Campbell claims that
> he only knows these critters from Northern Australia.
>     ( to shell-relate this: no---they don't have shells.)
>         Art
>
> Erich Draeger wrote:
>
>> At last a question I can answer.
>>     The insect in question is a Mantidfly (Order Neuroptera, Family
>> Mantispidae).  These insects resemble mantids in having the
>> prothorax lengthened and the front legs enlarger and fitted for
>> grasping prey.  They typically have a wing span of about 25mm of
>> so.  The adults are predaceous, and the larvae of most species are
>> parasitic in the egg sacs of ground spiders.  If you would like more
>> info here is a good reference to start with:  Rehn, J.W.H. 1939.
>> Studies in North American Mantispidae (Neuroptera).  Trans. Amer.
>> Entomol. Soc., Vol. 65:237-263.
>>
>> To make this shell related No, they do not prey on land snails.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Erich Draeger
>> Research Specialist
>> Dept. of  Entomology
>> University of Arizona
>