Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus)

Order: Hymenoptera (hy-men-OP-ter-a) (Info) Family: Sphecidae Genus: Sphecius Species: speciosus Profile: 1 positive 3 neutrals 1 negative Regional... This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions: Birmingham, Alabama Mena, Arkansas North Little Rock, Arkansas Jacksonville, Florida Leesburg, Florida Palm Bay, Florida Tavares, Florida Peru, Illinois Coatesville, Indiana Greenville, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana Newburgh, Indiana Davenport, Iowa Maplewood, New Jersey Wykagyl, New York Marlow, Oklahoma Chapel Hill, Tennessee Hendersonville, Tennessee Dallas, Texas Fort Worth, Texas Jacksonville, Texas San Antonio, Texas (2 reports) Southlake, Texas Staunton, Virginia Beloit, Wisconsin Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Neutral Vee8ch On Jul 25, 2006, Vee8ch from Palm Bay, FL (Zone 9b) wrote: Cicada Killer, Giant Ground Hornet, Specius speciosus (Drury).......... Cicada killers, or giant ground hornets, are among the largest wasps in Florida (up to 40 mm in length). The females of the common Florida species, Sphecius speciosus (Drury), hunt Tibicen spp. cicadas and can dig 4-foot burrows in the ground with several branches and cells.......... The fertilized female begins the reproductive cycle by making burrows 0.3 to 1.2 meters in length, with numerous branches and cells. The front legs rake the soil which is pushed out behind the female with her hind legs, resulting in a large dirt mound. From one to four cicadas per cell are deposited depending on the size of the cicada.......... One egg is placed on the last cicada in each nest. Apparently, the mother wasp can determine the sex of the egg and places the female egg with the more abundant provisions.......... Body predominately black with first three abdominal segments with large yellow spots; legs, mesoscutellum, and part of vertex rust orange color Sphecius speciosus (Drury).......... ....Copyright/source of Information .... [HYPERLINK@creatures.ifas.ufl.edu] Neutral babybluesntn On Aug 3, 2006, babybluesntn from Hendersonville, TN (Zone 7b) wrote: I observed two mounds of fresh dirt near each other in our back yard. While working near these mounds, I saw these huge hornet-like wasps flying low to the ground near the mounds. I watched one and saw that it was dragging a cicada beneath it. As I continued to watch, it found a hole in the grass beneath all that dirt, to my amazement, and drug the cicada down into it. This is a nasty looking creature--the pictures already posted are exactly what mine look like but my dirt mounds are different. I researched to find out what it was, and of course, found out that it is called a cicada killer. There is a good informational article on the U. of KY website under Entomology if you desire to know more. Karen Neutral Ckelgo On Aug 7, 2007, Ckelgo from Beloit, WI wrote: We have had this 'Ground Hornet' in our area for about 20 years that I can remember. Just recently started seeing them again Summer 2006. Visited Centennial Park in Peru, IL, and they were everywhere! I had never seen the mounds until I came to that park. (Approx. 1,000 sq. ft. area had about 15 mounds) I thought someone spilled dry cement, but one of my cousins said they were ground hornet mounds. When I saw them flying around, I knew they were the same as what we had at home (Beloit, WI). Now that I saw the regional list, it seems that these ground hornets, or cicada killers as they are also known, Wisconsin is the farthest north that they have been seen. They don't appear to be aggressive, and are just a wonder to see! I had never seen a bee that huge! Ck Negative said On Oct 10, 2007, said from Chapel Hill, TN wrote: double, and triple "ICK!!" these bugs are the weirdest things yet. they were staying under our ground porch made of wood, and were dragging the dead cicada's through the slats in the board. it had about 5 dead cicada's on the top side, and it kept flying around in circles trying to get it through the wood. they are extremely huge and look gross, and i believe they are quite dumb. and where did they evolve? i haven't ever seen them before, maybe a couple last year, but this year there were many more! yikes!! Positive joylily514 On Aug 11, 2008, joylily514 from Staunton, VA wrote: Thanks for identifying this amazing looking insect. I lived in the Dallas area for years, but I never saw it there. I moved to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia 3 years ago, and have just been seeing these really big wasps in my yard. Since I am an organic gardener, I almost always leave the bugs in my yard alone, unless it's Japanese Beetles and those I hand pick. I'm going to watch them more closely now and see if I can find any nests. I would love to see one carrying a cicada away. That would be a truly incredible sight.

By Vee8ch By Vee8ch By Vee8ch By MzMunchken By justdeb By justdeb By beejay6751 There are a total of 11 photos. Click here to view them all!