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Cicada Killer
Sphecius speciosus
Color: brownish black with yellow markings
Legs: Six
Shape: Segmented; oval
Size: 1 1/2" to 2" long
Antennae: Yes
Flight: Yes

Cicada Killers, also know as the Sand Hornet, are present in the eastern United States, east of the Rocky Mountains. Cicada Killers appear as adults in late July or August, and are mostly seen visiting flowers or digging burrows in sandy or light soil. Cicada killers appear in mid to late summer, July and August, causing special concern to individuals with young children.

In spite of their large size, the Cicada Killer usually ignore people but the female can give a very painful sting if bothered. Mating males are aggressive and more easily disturbed, but they have no stinger. However, both the male and female Cicada Killer have very large mouth parts and have the potential to bite, so use caution when aproaching these insects.

Life Cycle & Habits:
Solitary wasps (such as a cicada killer) are very different than the social wasps (hornets, yellowjackets and paper wasps). Cicada killer females use their sting to paralyze their Cicada prey, rather than to defend their nests. Cicadas are captured, paralyzed by a sting and used for food to rear their young. After stinging a large cicada, the female wasp drags it up a tree, straddles it and takes off toward the burrow, partly gliding. When trees are not available, the Cicada is dragged to the burrow on the ground.

Cicadas are very large insects, sometimes called "locusts." They sing loudly and noisily in trees during late summer. Overwintering occurs and adult wasps emerge about the first week in late July or early August. Adults live about 60 to 75 days while they dig new nesting holes in full sun where vegetation is sparse in light, well-drained soils.

Eggs are deposited in late July through August. Eggs hatch in one to two days and larvae complete their development in 4 to 14 days. There is only one generation per year.

Burrows & Nests:
There may be many individuals flying over a lawn, but each female digs her own burrow six to ten inches deep and one-half inch wide. They do not nest together. The soil is dislodged by her mouth and loose particles are kicked back as a dog would dig. The excess soil thrown out of the burrow forms a U-shaped mound at the entrance, causing unsightly mounds of earth on the turf. This ground-burrowing wasp may be found in sandy soils to loose clay in bare or grass covered banks, berms, hills as well as raised sidewalks, driveways and patio slabs. Some may nest in planters, window boxes, flower beds, under shrubs, ground cover, etc. Nests usually are made in the full sun where vegetation is sparse, especially in well-drained soils. Occasionally they establish in golf course sand traps.

Cicada Killer Wasps may tunnel as much as six inches deep and another six inches horizontally. At the end of the burrow are usually three to four cells where one to two cicadas are placed in each cell with one egg. If all the cells are filled, secondary tunnels are constructed and provisioned. A single burrow may eventually have 10 to 20 cells.

Management:
Occasionally, homeowners become flustered in attempting to eliminate nuisance, massive populations from lawns. Wasps may become unbearable causing homeowners not to use their backyard during the day due to these wasps flying around the lawn, shrubs and trees searching for cicadas.

Usually it is not necessary to control Cicada Killer wasps unless their presence is a nuisance. Sometimes these wasps can be troublesome in high traffic home and commercial areas such as berms around swimming pools, near planters at door entrances, flower beds, golf course greens and tees, and other unwanted areas. Sometimes they may fly erratically near people, causing fear. Males may actually defend their territory by dive bombing people's heads and shoulders.

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