The cicada killer wasp abdomens are black with three yellow stripe like markings with 6 legs that are pale red or orange. They have a pair of transparent brownish colored wings. Adult males grow up to 1 inch in size with adult females reaching up to 2 inches. They can be quite terrifying to encounter and will leave most people with a lot of questions. A Five Star Termite & Pest Control wants to help folks in their quest to find answers and to know more about the cicada killer wasp.
Where Do Cicada Killer Wasps Nest & Burrow
The cicada killer wasp got their name from the fact that they are commonly seen carrying dead cicadas. However adult cicada killer wasps don’t eat their catches themselves. As adults they feed on nectar, sap and other plant life in the area. They do hunt and prey on cicada bugs to feed their offspring. Cicada killer wasps will begin in late spring to early summer looking for food and to mate. Male’s lives are short lived. Once fully grown they will seek out a female to mate with. After mating, the males die. Females, after they are finished mating, will look for the perfect borrow site. Sometimes the prefect site can be in your garden. The loose soil is an ideal place to dig their borrow. You will often see a hole in the soil with a “U” shaped spread of dirt. This is a female cicada killer wasp still in the process of digging her borrow. Females will dig a foot down with multiple chambers.
Cicada Killer Wasp Life Cycle
Female cicada killer wasps will go on the hunt for cicadas. While flying over a cicada she will sting them with paralyzing venom, and then carry them back to her borrow. After the female stuffs her catch down into her borrow she will lay a single egg on each of her catches. She will then seal the hole giving the next generation plenty of food and shelter. After she lays all her eggs the female cicada killer wasp’s life ends and the next generation begins. Eggs will hatch after 2 to 4 days after the females laid her eggs. The larvae will feed on the dead cicada for 2 weeks. After having their fill, the cicada killer wasp larvae will spin a silk cocoon and sleep through the winter and will emerge as adult come summer.
What Happens if You Get Stung By a Cicada Killer?
Do cicada killer wasps pose a problem for people? In most case no. They mostly keep to themselves. Male cicada killer wasps are not equipped with stingers. Males will fly around, feed on nectar, and look for a female to mate with. Only the female cicada killer wasp has stingers and unless strongly provoked the female only use their stingers to hunt for prey. In the rare case when someone does get stung, the pain is far less then a sting from a yellowjacket wasp.
Stinging Insect Pest Inspections, Exclusion, Control, Removal, Management & More in Canyon Lake, Spring Branch, Bulverde, Timberwood Park, Leon Valley, Alamo Heights, New Braunfels, Selma, Live Oak, Converse, Universal City, Cibolo, Seguin, New Berlin, St Hedwig, Adkins, La Vernia, Elmendorf, Losoya, Von Ormy, Macdona & San Antonio, Texas
Other then the occasional hole dug in the garden or lawn; most people don’t see them as a problem. For those with allergies to stings, these wasps may pose as a problem or if you just don’t like to have a 2 inch wasp fly around you can put insecticidal dust around the borrows entrance or contact your local pest control company. Call A Five Star Termite & Pest Control today.
