It can be difficult to ID something from an image taken at an odd angle. I'm going to say that this is a nymph (youngster) of one of the katydid species, and then you can take it from there.

I always called them Camel Spiders. I had read they are virtually blind (hence why they don't move when you're hovering above them) since they are native to very dark, damp places (under porches, sub-basement areas). Despite being horrific in their appearance (and often quite sizable) and jumping when thought to be endangered; they are not harmful at all. My guess they eat smaller pests but I'm just speculating. Every year I see one or two in my home and assume they are "lost" from whatever dark place they typically reside. It's pretty easy to "catch them" in a jar since they cannot see you (requires slow movements) and relocate them outside for a better life.

And it was boring into the tree so that it could lay its eggs in the larva of a wood-boring beetle.

well... didn't touch it on purpose. i thought i had a fuzzball or something on my shirt so i went to pick it off and when i did so i realized it was alive lol. i'll go check out the Puss moth Catepillar and see if that's what it is. thanks :)