Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp, is a large, solitary digger wasp in the family Bembicidae, named for its habit of hunting cicadas to provision its nests. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations and so may directly benefit the deciduous trees on which cicadas feed; they are sometimes mistakenly called sand hornets, despite not being true hornets, which belong to the separate family Vespidae.
Facts
Identification
Distinguishing AppearanceLarge, robust wasps 1.5 to 5.0 cm long, with hairy, reddish and black areas on the thorax and black to reddish brown abdominal segments marked with light yellow stripes 1 Classification
System (Realm) Scientific Name Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Wikidata: Cicada Killer Wasp
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Sphecius speciosus, Wikipedia
Introductory paragraph
Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Bembicidae.
Description
Adult eastern cicada wasps are large, 1.5 to 5.0 cm (0.6 to 2.0 in) long, robust wasps with hairy, reddish, and black areas on their thoraces (middle parts), and black to reddish brown abdominal (rear) segments that are marked with light yellow stripes.
- digger wasp species
View the SourceIUCN Red List of Threatened Species
GBIF Species API
Wikidata: Cicada Killer Wasp
- Wikidata Q3493214, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Child Taxon Of: Hymenoptera, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
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