Cicada Killer Wasp

Cicada Killer wasps are large, solitary wasps in family Crabronidae. The name can be applied to any species of crabronid which uses cicadas as prey, though it is typically applied to a single north American species, Sphecius Speciosus. often simply referred to as "The Cicada Killer". However, since there are multiple species of related wasps, it is more appropriate to call it the EASTERN CICADA KILLER to distinguish it. This species occurs in the eastern and midwest U.S. and southwards into mexico and central America . They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. In North America they are sometimes called SAND HORNETS,although they are not hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae.

Adult cicada killers are large,1.5 to 5 cm (2/3 to 2 inches) long, robust wasps with reddish and black areas on the thorax (middle part),and are black to reddish brown with light yellow stripes on the abdominal(rear) segments. The wings are brownish. Coloration may superficially resemble that of yellow jackets or hornets.

Eropean hornets (VESPRA CRABRO) are often mistaken for cicada killers.
Solitary wasps (such as the cicada killer) are very different in thier behavior from the social wasps such as hornets,yellowjackets, and paper wasps. Cicada killer females use their sting to paralyze their prey(cicadas) rather then defend thier nests. Adults feed on flower nectar and other plant sap exudates.

Adults emerge in the summer, beginning around july and continuing throughout the summer months. They are present in a given area for 60 to 75 days, until mid september. They are commonly seen in late summer skimming around lawns, shrubs, and trees searching for cicadas. There may be many individuals flying over a lawn, and females may share a burrow, digging their own nest cells off of the main tunnel. A burrow is 15 to 25 cm(6 to 10 in.) deep and about 3 cm (1.5 in) wide. The female dislodges the soil with her jaws and pushes loose soil behind her as she backs out of the burrow using her hind legs, which are equipped with special spines. The excess soil pushed out of the burrow forms a mound with a trench in it at the burrow entrance. This ground burrowing wasp may be found in well-drained, sandy soils to loose clay in bare or grass covered banks, berms, hills as well as raised sidewalks, driveways and patio slabs. Cicada killers may nest inplanters, window boxes, flower beds or under shrubs, ground cover etc. Nests are often made in the full sun where vegetation is sparse,especially in well drained soils.

After digging a nest chamber in the burrow, female cicada killers capture cicadas, paralyzing them with a sting; the cicadas then serve as food to rear their young. After paralyzing a cicada,the female wasp straddles it and takes off toward her burrow;this return flight to the burrow is difficult for the wasp because the cicada is twice her weight,after putting the cicada in the nest cell, the female deposits an egg on the cicada and closes the cell with dirt. Male eggs are laid on a single cicada but female eggs are given two or sometimes three cicadas;this is because the female wasp is twice as large as the male and must have more food. New nest cells are dug as necessary off of the main tunnel and a single burrow may eventually have 10 to 20 cells. The egg hatches in one or two days,and cicadas serve as food for the grub. The larvae complete their developement in about two weeks.

Overwintering occurs as a mature larvae within an earth coated coccoon. Pupation occurs in the nest cell in the spring and lasts 25 to 30 days. There is only one generation per year and no adults overwinter.

This wasp is frequently attacked by the parasitic "velvet ant" wasp DASYMUTILLA OCCIDENTALIS, also known as the "cowkiller" wasp. It lays an egg in the nest cell of the cicada killer,and when the cicada killer larva pupates. The parasitoid larva consumes the pupa.