Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp
Sphecius speciosus
Summary 3
Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid which preys on cicadas, though in North America it is typically applied to a single species, S. speciosus. However, since there are multiple species of related wasps, it is more appropriate to call it the eastern cicada killer. This species occurs in the eastern and midwest U.S. and southwards into Mexico and Central America. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Joe MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MacIndewar
- (c) Judy Gallagher, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Judy Gallagher
- Adapted by Joe MacIndewar from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus
