Sebastian County Home & Garden
Outdoor Pests
Cicada Killer Wasps
Beginning July, the Sebastian County Extension Office receives a large number
of calls from alarmed citizens whose yards are being invaded by very large
wasps. These giant wasps are called Cicada Killers. While their name sounds
absolutely horrid, they are mostly harmless and help to control the cicada
population in our neighborhoods.
Cicada Killer Wasp: Sphecius speciosus
(Photo by B.M. Drees, Texas Cooperative Extension Service)
The abundance of nicely manicured lawns provides plenty of refuge for these
wasps that emerge from the ground about the same time as noisy cicadas. A female
seeks out a cicada in a tree, stings it and buries it in the ground. She then
lays her eggs on it. The larvae use the paralyzed cicada for food as it grows.
Next July it will emerge as an adult.
The female Cicada Killers are the only ones that can sting you. These are
extremely docile and it takes effort on your part to make them sting. What most
people notice are the males. These have no stinger but are excellent at
bluffing. They will do their best to intimidate anything that enters their
territory. Their huge size makes this difficult to believe.
Cicada Killers are about 1-1/2 inches in length. They are black with yellow
markings. Their mandibles are very visible. The antennae are usually bent, but
not usually curled up like mud daubers.
The best thing to do about Cicada Killers is nothing. They help control the
cicada population and their season is short. If you feel that their short
presence is a real nuisance, you can treat them with an insecticide. Night
applications of a dust formulation to each burrow can be effective, as can
aerosol sprays of a wasp killer. Do not disturb the mounds during application.
Read the label before applying any pesticide.
By Dustin Blakey
Sebastian County Extension Agent - Agriculture
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