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Sphecius speciosus
Adult eastern cicada killer wasps are large, 1.5 to 5.0 centimeters (0.6 to 2.0 in) long, robust wasps with hairy, reddish and black areas on the thorax (middle part), and are black to reddish brown marked with light yellow stripes on the abdominal (rear) segments. 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. (information from Wikipedia)
Flowerbed outside our mall
My daughter and I exited the mall after seeing a movie and all the buzzing around caught my attention. Upon closer inspection, I noticed at least a dozen or two cicada killers flying around. It looked like it was mostly males and they were engaging each other, tussling in midair. There were a few females present, as noted by 2 deceased specimens in the flowerbed and also by size comparison after observing midair copulation attempts.
We drove home and grabbed my camera and her sketch pad and returned to the site. While she was drawing a male and female from dead specimens, a male wasp flew down and landed on the deceased female. He spent several minutes trying to stimulate her and mate with her. It was an interesting experience and I explained the entire thing to my 7 year-old. She was a bit nervous about all the buzzing around at first, but quickly warmed up to the scene and was as fascinated as I was. The sad part? Not a single person who walked by asked what we were looking at. Nobody cared! :-(
Spotted on Aug 9, 2013
Submitted on Aug 10, 2013
2 Comments
It truly made my day! We spent over an hour just sitting and observing the wasps, and neither of us were bored in the least. I'm sure the only people all day who noticed were the smokers who step outside and hang out near that flowerbed.
Wow! What an awesome experience for the both of you! Great to see your daughlter's interest in sketching these awesome ceatures! Sad that nobody else was interested though:( People walk by amazing things every day unnoticed.