Sphecius speciosus

Sphecius speciosus
	Adult male (left) and female (right)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Crabronidae
Genus:	Sphecius
Species:	S. speciosus
Binomial name
	Sphecius speciosus; (Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
	Sphex speciosusDrury 1773;

Last updated July 31, 2024

Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid that preys on cicadas, though in North America, it is typically applied to this species, also referred to as the eastern cicada killer in order to further differentiate it from the multiple other examples of related wasp species. Sometimes, they are called sand hornets,^[1] although they are not hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae. This species can be found 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. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations, and as such, they may directly benefit the deciduous trees upon which the cicadas feed.

Description

Five female eastern cicada killers, Sphecius speciosus Sphecius speciosus 1.jpg — Five female eastern cicada killers, *Sphecius speciosus*

Adult eastern cicada wasps are large, 1.5 to 5.0 cm (0.6 to 2.0 in) long, robust wasps with hairy, reddish, and black areas on their thoraces (middle parts), and black to reddish brown abdominal (rear) segments that are marked with light yellow stripes. The wings are brownish. Coloration superficially resembles that of some yellowjacket and hornet species. The females are somewhat larger than the males, and both are among the largest wasps seen in the Eastern United States, their unusual size giving them a uniquely fearsome appearance. European hornets (Vespa crabro) are often mistaken for eastern cicada killers, though at about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) long, they are smaller than the largest cicada killers. The males are smaller than the females because they are not given as much larval food; since females must carry the cicadas they have killed to a burrow for nesting, they benefit from being larger, and are given more food as larvae.^[3]^[4]

Life cycle and habits

A female S. speciosus digging a burrow next to a driveway CK burrowing.jpg — A female *S. speciosus* digging a burrow next to a driveway

Solitary wasps like the eastern cicada killer are very different in their behavior from the social wasps such as hornets, yellowjackets, or paper wasps. Cicada killer females use their stings to paralyze their prey (cicadas) rather than to defend their nests; unlike most social wasps and bees, they do not attempt to sting unless handled roughly. Adults feed on flower nectar and other plant sap exudates.^[2]

Adults emerge in summer, typically beginning around late June or early July and die off in September or October.^[5] They are present in a given area for 60 to 75 days, usually until mid-September. Males emerge first to compete for females.^[6] The large females are commonly seen skimming around lawns seeking good sites to dig burrows and searching for cicadas in trees and taller shrubs.^[2]

The males are more often seen in groups, vigorously challenging one another for position on the breeding aggregation from which they emerged, and generally investigate anything that moves or flies near them. Not unusually, two or three male wasps are seen locked together in apparent midair combat, the aggregate adopting an erratic flight path until one of the wasps breaks away. The male wasps' aggressive behavior is similar to that of another robust insect of the area, the male carpenter bee. In both cases, while the males' vigorous territorial defense can be frightening and intimidating to human passersby, the males pose no danger whatsoever. Male cicada killers only grapple with other insects, and cannot sting.^[2]

This ground-burrowing wasp may be found in well-drained, sandy to loose clay soils in bare or grass-covered banks, berms, and hills, as well as next to raised sidewalks, driveways and patio slabs. Females may share a burrow, digging their own nest cells off the main tunnel. A typical burrow is 25–50 cm (10–20 in) deep and about 1.5 cm (0.59 in) wide.^[7] In digging a burrow, the female dislodges the soil with her jaws, and using her hind legs, pushes loose soil behind her as she backs out of the burrow. Her hind legs are equipped with special spines that help her push the soil behind her.^[8] The excess soil pushed out of the burrow forms a mound with a trench through it at the burrow entrance. Cicada killers may nest in planters, window boxes, or flower beds, or under shrubs, ground cover, etc. Nests often are made in the full sun where vegetation is sparse.^[2]

Video: hauling a cicada up a tree

After digging a nest chamber in the burrow, female cicada killers capture cicadas, paralyzing them with a sting. After paralyzing a cicada, the female wasp holds it upside down beneath her and takes off toward her burrow; this return flight to the burrow is difficult for the wasp because the cicada is often more than twice her weight. A wasp often lugs her prey up into the nearest tree, to gain altitude for the flight to the burrow. After putting one or more cicadas in her nest cell, the female deposits an egg on a cicada and closes the cell with soil. Male eggs are laid on a single cicada, but female eggs are given two or sometimes three cicadas, because the female wasp is twice as large as the male and must have more food. New nest cells are dug as necessary off the main burrow tunnel, and a single burrow may eventually have 10 or more nest cells. The egg hatches in one or two days, and the cicadas serve as food for the grub. The larvae complete their development in about 2 weeks. Overwintering occurs as a mature larva within an earth-coated cocoon. Pupation occurs in the nest cell in the spring and lasts 25 to 30 days. Only one generation occurs per year, and no adults overwinter.^[2]

Different views of a cicada-killer hauling two paralyzed mating cicadas vertically up the side of a fence post

This wasp is frequently attacked by the parasitic "velvet ant" wasp, Dasymutilla occidentalis , also known as the "cow-killer" 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.^[2]

Interaction with humans

Although cicada killers are large, females are not aggressive and rarely sting unless they are grasped roughly, stepped upon with bare feet, or caught in clothing. One author who has been stung indicates that for him, the stings are not much more than a "pinprick".^[9] Males aggressively defend their perching areas on nesting sites against rival males, but they have no stinger. Although they appear to attack anything that moves near their territories, male cicada killers are actually investigating anything that might be a female cicada killer ready to mate. Such close inspection appears to many people to be an attack, but male and female cicada killers do not land on people with the intent to sting. If handled roughly, females will sting, and males will jab with a sharp spine on the tip of their abdomen. They are generally not aggressive towards humans and usually fly away when swatted at, rather than attacking.^[2]

Other cicada-killer wasps

The North American cicada-killer wasps all belong to the genus Sphecius , which has 21 species worldwide. The remaining three cicada-killing species in the genus in North America are:

Sphecius convallis , the Pacific cicada killer, occurs in the western U.S. and in Mexico.
Sphecius grandis , the western cicada killer, occurs in the mid- and western U.S. and in Mexico.
Sphecius hogardii , the Caribbean cicada killer, occurs in the U.S. in Florida and in the Caribbean.

The western cicada killer is thought to represent more than one species. Also, some evidence suggests that the eastern cicada killer has either a subspecies or a closely related species that mimics the Pacific cicada killer. Alternatively, when they were already distinct species, significant hybridization has occurred between them, though not enough to fully overcome their present reproductive isolation.^[10]

The spectacled cicada killer, Sphecius spectabilis(Taschenberg, 1875), is found in the South American countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, French Guiana, Paraguay, Surinam, and Venezuela.^{[ citation needed ]}

Sixteen other cicada-killer wasp species in the genus Sphecius are found in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Other genera of cicada-killing wasps (e.g., Liogorytes in South America and Exeirus in Australia) are the "cicada killers" of their native lands.^{[ citation needed ]}

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hornet</span> Genus of eusocial wasp

Hornets are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to 5.5 cm (2.2 in) in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by the relatively large top margin of the head. Worldwide, 22 species of Vespa are recognized. Most species only occur in the tropics of Asia, though the European hornet is widely distributed throughout Europe, Russia, North America, and north-eastern Asia. Wasps native to North America in the genus Dolichovespula are commonly referred to as hornets, but all of them are actually yellowjackets.

Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary, and most capture and paralyze prey, though members of the subfamily Ceropalinae are kleptoparasites of other pompilids, or ectoparasitoids of living spiders.

Mud dauber is a name commonly applied to a number of wasps from either the family Sphecidae or Crabronidae which build their nests from mud; this excludes members of the family Vespidae, which are instead referred to as "potter wasps". Mud daubers belong to different families and are variable in appearance. Most are long, slender wasps about 1 inch (25 mm) in length. The name refers to the nests that are made by the female wasps, which consist of mud molded into place by the wasp's mandibles. Mud daubers are not normally aggressive, but can become belligerent when threatened. Stings are uncommon.

Cicada killer wasps are large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory wasps. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them, after stinging and paralyzing them. Twenty-one species worldwide are recognized. The highest diversity occurs in the region between North Africa and Central Asia.

Potter wasps, the Eumeninae, are a cosmopolitan wasp group presently treated as a subfamily of Vespidae, but sometimes recognized in the past as a separate family, Eumenidae.

The European beewolf, also known as the bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus, is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores, the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt Western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in Western honey bees.

Bembix rostrata is a species of sand wasp native to Central Europe. The genus Bembix - of which B. rostrata is among the most distinctive species - has over 340 species worldwide and is found mostly in warm regions with open, sandy soils; Australia and Africa have a particularly rich variety of species.

Philanthus gibbosus, the hump-backed beewolf, is a species of bee-hunting wasp and is the most common and widespread member of the genus in North America. P. gibbosus is of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Philanthus. It is native to the Midwestern United States and the western Appalachians. P. gibbosus are often observed to visit flowers and other plants in search of insect prey to feed their young. The prey that P. gibbosus catches is then coated in a layer of pollen and fed to the young wasps.

Larra bicolor is a parasitoid wasp native to South America. It was introduced into Florida as a biological pest control of invasive mole crickets.

A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. The wasps do not constitute a clade, a complete natural group with a single ancestor, as bees and ants are deeply nested within the wasps, having evolved from wasp ancestors. Wasps that are members of the clade Aculeata can sting their prey.

The eastern yellow jacket or eastern yellowjacket is a wasp found in eastern North America. Although most of their nests are subterranean, they are often considered a pest due to their nesting in recreational areas and buildings. This yellow jacket is a social insect, living in colonies of hundreds to thousands of individuals. Along with their subfamily, Vespinae, this species demonstrates supportive parental care for offspring, separation of reproductive and sterile castes, and overlapping generations. They aggressively defend their hives from threats and are known to inflict painful stings.

Cerceris fumipennis, the only species of buprestid-hunting Crabronidae occurring in eastern North America, is found throughout the continental United States east of the Rockies: from Texas and Florida north to Maine, Wyoming, and into Canada. The wasps most often nest in open areas of hard-packed sandy soil surrounded by woody habitat suitable for their buprestid beetle prey.

The thin-waisted social wasps, which typically reside in Neotropical regions from Central to South America, are a small genus of wasps that build nests and live in colonies ranging in size from 1 to 18 members. Microstigmus is widely considered to be the only true eusocial species within the family Crabronidae. Like all Hymenoptera, Microstigmus has an interesting sex determination pattern. Females are 2n (diploid), spawning from eggs that have been fertilized, while males are 1n (haploid) and spawn from unfertilized eggs. Female wasps contain the eggs within their egg sac and have the option of fertilizing them or not, thus having complete control of the gender of their offspring. This wasp genus, part of the suborder Apocrita, is distinguished physically by the narrow waist (petiole) between the end segment of the thorax (mesosoma) and the beginning of the abdomen (metasoma). Specifically, it is in the subgroup of "apoid wasps", those that exhibit social behavior in nesting and foraging. Evidence does exist that in some species social altruism is visible; however, studies on these topics have been limited. The small size and enclosed nest structure makes it difficult to obtain significant data. Although it was originally classified under the Sphecidae family due to its elongated petiole, Microstigmus has been reclassified into the new Crabronidae family.

Sphecius grandis, also called the western cicada killer, is a species of cicada killer wasp (Sphecius). The western species shares the same nesting biology as its fellow species, the eastern cicada killer. S. grandis, like all other species of the genus Sphecius, mainly provides cicadas for its offspring. It forms nest aggregations and mates and broods once in a year, in July and early August. The wasp is on average 3 cm (1 in) to 5 cm (2 in) in length and is amber-yellow with yellow rings on its abdomen.

Dasymutilla occidentalis is a species of parasitoid wasp that ranges from Connecticut to Kansas in the north and Florida to Texas in the south. Adults are mostly seen in the summer months.

Ammophila sabulosa, the red-banded sand wasp, is a species of the subfamily Ammophilinae of the solitary hunting wasp family Sphecidae, also called digger wasps. Found across Eurasia, the parasitoid wasp is notable for the mass provisioning behaviour of the females, hunting caterpillars mainly on sunny days, paralysing them with a sting, and burying them in a burrow with a single egg. The species is also remarkable for the extent to which females parasitise their own species, either stealing prey from nests of other females to provision their own nests, or in brood parasitism, removing the other female's egg and laying one of her own instead.

Ammophila urnaria is a species of hunting wasp in the family Sphecidae. It is a black and red insect native to the eastern United States. It feeds on nectar but catches and paralyses caterpillars to leave in underground chambers for its developing larvae to consume.

Hemipepsis ustulata is a species of tarantula hawk wasp native to the Southwestern United States. Tarantula hawks are a large, conspicuous family of long-legged wasps that prey on tarantulas by using their long legs to grapple with their prey and then paralyze them with a powerful sting. They are solitary, displaying lekking territorial behavior in their mating rituals.

Tachytes etruscus is a predatory, solitary wasp belonging to the family Crabronidae. The species was first described by Pietro Rossi in 1790.

Sphecius hogardii, the Caribbean cicada killer, is a species of sand wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in the Caribbean and North America.

References

↑ Sciarappa, William (May 2004). "The Cicada Killer Wasp (Rutgers NJAES)". njaes.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-30.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Howard Ensign Evans & Kevin M. O'Neill (2007). The Sand Wasps: Natural History and Behavior . Harvard University Press. pp. 37–43. ISBN 978-0-674-02462-5.
↑ Coelho, J. R. (1997). "Sexual size dimorphism and flight behavior in cicada killers (Sphecius specio- 5M5)". Oikos. 79 (2): 371–375. doi:10.2307/3546021. JSTOR 3546021.
↑ Holliday, C. W.; Coelho, J. R. (2006). "Improved key to New World species of Sphecius (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 99 (5): 793–798. doi: 10.1603/0013-8746(2006)99[793:IKTNWS]2.0.CO;2 .
↑ "eastern cicada killer". Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
↑ Steven Richardson; Forest Huval; Chris Carlton; T.E. Reagan (Feb 16, 2024). "Sphecius speciosus, Eastern Cicada Killer (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)". LSU AgCenter.
↑ Hardy, Keith (2021-12-17). "Waking Up to a Lawn Full of Holes | Small Holes in Lawn Overnight - Gardening Latest". gardeninglatest.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
↑ Coelho, Joseph R.; Hastings, Jon M.; et al. (January 2008). "Sexual Dimorphism of the Femora, Tibiae, and Hind Tibial Spurs in the Eastern Cicada Killer, Sphecius speciosus Drury (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in the United States". Entomological News. 119 (1): 11–18. doi:10.3157/0013-872X(2008)119[11:SDOTFT]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86426837.
↑ Joseph R. Coelho (1998). "Cicada killer control". Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008.
↑ Hastings, Jon M.; Schultheis, Patrick J.; et al. (2008). "DNA barcoding of new world cicada killers (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1713: 27–38. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

External links

Sphecius, a comprehensive list of taxonomic information on the genus.
Dick Walton's Solitary Wasps Page, with video clips of Sphecius speciosus and other digger wasps
Eastern cicada killer, on the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Featured Creatures website
Townsend, Lee. "Cicada Killer Wasps". University of Kentucky, College of Agriculture. Retrieved 2020-08-14.
A fact sheet Archived 2012-07-29 at the Wayback Machine from the Ohio State University Extension

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
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[1] Sciarappa, William (May 2004). "The Cicada Killer Wasp (Rutgers NJAES)". njaes.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-30.

[EvansONeill-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Howard Ensign Evans & Kevin M. O'Neill (2007). The Sand Wasps: Natural History and Behavior . Harvard University Press. pp. 37–43. ISBN 978-0-674-02462-5.

[coelho-3] Coelho, J. R. (1997). "Sexual size dimorphism and flight behavior in cicada killers (Sphecius specio- 5M5)". Oikos. 79 (2): 371–375. doi:10.2307/3546021. JSTOR 3546021.

[holliday-4] Holliday, C. W.; Coelho, J. R. (2006). "Improved key to New World species of Sphecius (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 99 (5): 793–798. doi: 10.1603/0013-8746(2006)99[793:IKTNWS]2.0.CO;2 .

[IDNR-5] "eastern cicada killer". Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

[LSU-6] Steven Richardson; Forest Huval; Chris Carlton; T.E. Reagan (Feb 16, 2024). "Sphecius speciosus, Eastern Cicada Killer (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)". LSU AgCenter.

[7] Hardy, Keith (2021-12-17). "Waking Up to a Lawn Full of Holes | Small Holes in Lawn Overnight - Gardening Latest". gardeninglatest.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.

[8] Coelho, Joseph R.; Hastings, Jon M.; et al. (January 2008). "Sexual Dimorphism of the Femora, Tibiae, and Hind Tibial Spurs in the Eastern Cicada Killer, Sphecius speciosus Drury (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in the United States". Entomological News. 119 (1): 11–18. doi:10.3157/0013-872X(2008)119[11:SDOTFT]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 86426837.

[9] Joseph R. Coelho (1998). "Cicada killer control". Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2008.

[10] Hastings, Jon M.; Schultheis, Patrick J.; et al. (2008). "DNA barcoding of new world cicada killers (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae)" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1713: 27–38. Retrieved 20 May 2018.

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