Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Sphecius speciosus (
Drury, 1773)
Identification
Its head and thorax (front two body sections) are a rust color. The large abdomen (back section) is black and yellow, much like a yellow jacket. Its legs are yellowish and its wings are clear with an orangish-red tint.
Range
Widely distributed east of the Rocky Mountains and south into Mexico. Sometimes common locally in Florida
Habitat
It lives at the edges of forests, in gardens, and in waste places.
Nests in the ground.
(1).
Food
Adults eat very little, nectar from flowers. Larvae eat cicadas
Life Cycle
In two or three days after egg laying, a wasp larva will hatch from the egg. The larva immediately begins eating the cicada. When the larva finishes the cicada, leaving only the outer shell (about two weeks), it will then spin a coccoon and hibernate until the following Spring.
In the Spring, the larva will leave its coccoon and become a pupa (resting stage). From the pupa, an adult Cicada Killer will hatch. It will dig its way out of the ground and look for a mate.
Male wasps die shortly after mating. Females die after laying all of their eggs.
Remarks
Provisions its nest with cicadas. Largest species of the Gorytini tribe (in some classifications).
(1)
Predators of Cicada Killers are the same as those of other wasps, including birds, shrews, and mantids.
