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Project Noah Nature School
Sphecius speciosus
large yellow and black wasp with brown wings
horticulture gardens
Spotted on Jul 20, 2011
Submitted on Jul 20, 2011
7 Comments
I did get near them accidentally now that I'm thinking about it.. we were playing around their nest (hole in a rock wall) and while climbing the wall, their guards caught us..
Ok, I'll take your word for it.. Its just that i had some close and personnal experience with one of the close cousins when I was young.. My ear lobe was as large as a plum tomato!! Thanks for the info..
Nicholas, although cicada killers look terrifying they seldom attack people
We're getting visited by lots of these guys where I work and although they look fearsome they're inoffensive. The males hang around fighting with each other for mating privileges with any female that comes along, but they are unable to sting. The females, which are truly enormous, hunt cicadas which they sting and bury with an egg to provide food when the larva hatches. They can sting, but you have to do something like accidentally step on one to get stung. I've been watching them for about a week and they're fascinating: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/682...
thanks for the ID Alice
A bad day for anyone stung by this one.. nice close up photos.
Cicada Killer Wasp (Sphecidae)