Detailed information on Cicada Killer (Sphecius speciosus)

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vossner

(Zone 8a) | July 2022 | Negative

Our next door neighbor had quite an infestation, with what seemed like clouds of them. We heard that Bifen killed them so he and us went on an all out spray campaign and managed to eradicate them in two seasons. They seem to come out in early July, and once we notice a couple flying around, we start looking for their ground nests. Spray Biden in powder form inside the hole and cicada killers no more.

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ruckerlady

Gorman, TX | November 2016 | Neutral

When my pears start ripening, these wasps swarm the tree in large numbers. They seem harmless, and haven't attacked when I pick the fruit.

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flemtech1

Bryant, AR | July 2013 | Neutral

I have not experienced this insect in my 30 years of living in
Arkansas until today. I would love to believe that these creatures do not sting, but I'm certain by the looks of them that they do. I found it quite interesting that the one I saw today had lined up 8 cicada, all facing down, lined up in a row, in a gap between my concrete drive and some brick pavers.........he/she was very precise because they were actually in order from small to large.
Please advise if anyone has been stung by one of these and do you think they could harm my Kat

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wakingdream

Allentown, PA | April 2013 | Negative

I am entering my fourth summer expecting to do battle with these tunneling wasps. They excavate large amounts of subsoil, disturbing roots of garden vegetables and perennials, in order to make tunnels and store cicadas there as food for their offspring. The piles of orange clay soil are substantial and do not wash away with rain. I began trapping the wasps in jars in 2011. Last year I caught 68 of them in my back yard (one third acre). Is this an infestation? It feels like it. I have not been stung. I use a large glass jar placed over their tunnel opening and pour a fast stream of water into it to make them fly out and up into the jar. They are making a big mess of my garden beds and being an organic grower, I will not apply any chemical controls. It takes some intestinal fortitude to... read more

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n00b

Glendive, MT | July 2012 | Neutral

There were maybe 50 to 75 or more of them along with more regular wasps on my neighbor's Chinese Elm & scared the daylights out of me so I told him about them without doing any research. He then bought a can of Wasp spray & used it early next morning, then started cutting tree down. It's about half dead anyway, did the Cicada kill it? I'm sure it was healthy last year.Just yesterday I found out from extension agent what they were so have left a note on neighbors door before he buys another can of spray, although I'm sure he'll want to kill the hoards of regular wasps when he goes to finish cutting tree down.

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beentaken

Friendswood, TX | May 2011 | Neutral

Glad to have found this site! We just spotted one of these critters today south of Houston, TX. Scared the fire out of us at first, but after reading up on it, we now realize it's not such a beast.

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alblueheron

Tampa, FL | February 2011 | Neutral

to panicum:
The cicada killer feeds on the yearly cicadas, not the periodical species. The periodical species emerges, mates, and most of them die before the cicada killers emerge.
The yearly cicadas also spend ten or more years feeding on the roots of trees, but they hatch asynchronously so that there is a brood of cicadas each year.
A female cicada killer will provide her female eggs with two to four cicadas, while she will provide her male eggs with a single cicada.
A single cicada killer will kill upwards of 100 cicadas in her lifetime, and a colony may be composed of 100 or more cicada killers - that is 10,000 cicadas that are not available to slash the twigs of trees and whose offspring will not be feeding on the roots of those trees for ten to twelve ye... read more

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themikeman

Concord, NC (Zone 7a) | January 2011 | Negative

I have witnessed a cicada killer chase down, sting, and kill a female ruby throated hummingbird, and had to listen to this poor humingbird scream in agony before she died. I had discussed this with several quote insect and pest experts online before i found daves garden, and they told me i was mistaken, that these might chase hummingbirds away from the feeders but not sting them as they are docile, which is an incorrect falicy, as they are wrong, as i witnessed this stinging and murder with my own two eyes and as ive stated, had to horrifyingly listen to it. Every year these bastard cicada killer wasps make holes or nests in the ground under my back porch and come out and get into my feeders year after year even since this tradgedy. everyyear i spray the ground, which works temporarily, bu... read more

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panicum

Winston Salem, NC | May 2009 | Neutral

As many times as we might hear that the male cannot sting and the female is not aggressive, that is one scary bug! The tunnel mounds in a lawn can be a nuisance for mowing, and they leave an ugly dirt stain area for a long time. I have not noticed their abundance being as periodic as the cicadas they depend on: they are there every year. And there are other wasps that dig tunnels too; we have a large indigo black one that makes almost as big a mess. Why people always call these Japanese Hornets, dunno; I may have never seen those. The three yellow bands are easily distinctive for ours.

:p

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joylily514

Katy, TX (Zone 9a) | August 2008 | Positive

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.

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said

Chapel Hill, TN | October 2007 | Negative

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!!

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Ckelgo

Beloit, WI | August 2007 | Neutral

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 be... read more

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babybluesntn

Gallatin, TN (Zone 7b) | August 2006 | Neutral

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

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Vee8ch

Palm Bay, FL (Zone 9b) | July 2006 | Neutral

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. ... read more

Cicada Killer

Spheciusspeciosus

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