Animal Corner

Discover the many amazing animals that live on our planet.

  • Home
  • A-Z Animals
  • Anatomy
  • Glossary
  • Animal Lists
    • Animal By Letter
    • Animals by Location
    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
  • Free Resources
    • Animal Coloring Pages
    • Animal Jokes
    • Animal Quizzes
  • Pets
    • Dog Breeds
    • Rabbit Breeds
    • Cat Breeds
    • Pet Rodents
    • Animal Care
  • Blog
You are here: Home / Animals / Cicada Killer Wasps

Cicada Killer Wasps

Image Source

Cicada Killer Wasps (Sphecius Speciosus) are ‘Solitary Wasps’.

Cicada killers wasps are large (one and a half inch or longer) wasps with dark brown bodies and black abdomens with yellow markings. Cicada killer wasps are usually found in the Rocky Mountains of the US. Cicada killer wasps are ground nesters which prefer sandy or other well-drained soils where the queens dig tunnel-like chambers.

The adults are active in the summer, usually around mid-July. They are frequently seen flying about in the nesting areas.

Cicada Killer Wasp Lifecycle

Cicada Killer Wasp

The adult wasps feed on flower nectar however, the larva and immature wasps feed on other Cicadas.

The queens search for Cicadas to provision their nests (hence the name).

Each chamber in the nest (often as many as 16) is supplied with a paralyzed Cicada wasp and a wasp egg. When the larvae hatches it feeds on the Cicada wasp. Later the larvae pupates and the wasp hibernates in the nest as an immature adult.

Cicada Killer Wasp and humans

Female Cicada killer wasps are not aggressive and rarely sting unless handled roughly, disturbed, or caught in clothing, etc. Males aggressively defend their perching areas on nesting sites against rival males but they have no sting. Although they appear to attack anything which moves near their territories, male cicada killers are actually investigating anything which might be a female cicada killer ready to mate.

Such close inspection appears to many people to be an attack, but the wasps rarely sting, bite, or even land on people. If handled roughly females will sting, males will jab with a sharp spine on the tip of their abdomen, and both sexes are well equipped to bite with their large jaws, however they are non-aggressive towards humans and fly away when swatted at, instead of attacking.

Cicada killer wasps exert a natural control on cicada populations and therefore directly benefit the deciduous trees on which cicadas feed.

Check out more animals that begin with the letter C

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About

  • Potter Wasps
  • Paper Wasp
  • Common Wasps
  • Mud Dauber Wasp
  • wasps
    Wasps
  • Yellow jacket Wasp

About Joanne Spencer

I've always been passionate about animals which led me to a career in training and behaviour. As an animal professional I'm committed to improving relationships between people and animals to bring them more happiness.

Animal Classification

Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Hymenoptera
Family:Crabronidae
Tribe:Gorytini
Genus:Sphecius
Type species:Sphecius speciosus

Search

Most Popular Animals

  • Zebras
  • Aquatic Warbler
  • Atlantic Dolphins
  • Trapdoor Spider
  • Giraffe
  • Meerkats
  • Timber Wolf
  • Praying Mantis
  • Huntsman Spider
  • Vampire Bat

Galapagos Islands

galapagos-islands

Animal Names Glossary

Animal Names

British Wildlife

british-wildlife

Mammals

anatomy

Dog Breeds

dog breeds

Farm Animals

Farm Animals

Best of the Blog

  • 21 Amazing Animals that live in Lakes
  • What are the Fastest Animals in the World?
  • 31 Animals with Weird and Funny Sounding Names
  • Top 15 Deadliest Animals in the World
  • Ophiophagy – Examples of animals that eat snakes
  • List of Fascinating Solitary Animals

Copyright © 2005-2022 · Animal Corner · All Rights Reserved · Affiliate Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Animals Sitemap . About Us

AnimalCorner.org is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.