Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Ants, Bees, Wasps and Sawflies (Hymenoptera) » Aculeata - Ants, Bees and Stinging Wasps » Apoidea sans Anthophila – Apoid Wasps » Square-headed Wasps, Sand Wasps, and Allies (Crabronidae) » Bembicinae » Sand Wasps (Bembicini) » Spheciina » Cicada-killer Wasps (Sphecius) » Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus)
Photo#953593
Eastern Cicada Killer - Sphecius speciosus - female
Copyright © 2014 Steven Price

Eastern Cicada Killer - Sphecius speciosus - Female
Shirley, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
August 15, 2013
I know the id of the Cicada Killer, but I was wondering: A - If the Cicada could be indentified, and B - Does anyone know how the Cicada Killers find Cicadas? Do they simply know where they like to hang out? Can they hear them? "Smell" them, etc.?
Contributed by Steven Price on 9 July, 2014 - 10:08am

yes, female Sphecius speciosus
Moved from ID Request.
The cicada is a Tibicen sp. (probably T. canicularis). As to how they find cicadas, I believe that they just scan bushes and trees. Scent may be involved as well.

Nice photo, by the way!
… metrioptera, 9 July, 2014 - 10:54am

 
Cicada Killers
Thank you!!
… Steven Price, 9 July, 2014 - 11:52am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo