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Local Cicada Killer Wasp
Hello
Thank you for such a wonderful site, your images, information, and submitted stories are the best! I have discovered some Cicada Killer wasps (I think Sphecius speciosus) in my yard here in northwest Austin, Texas. There’s one in particular which I’ve been able to photograph, and a few others are buzzing around which all look very similar, although they vary in size. He/she seemed very docile and let me get quite close with my camera and tripod. Later, I discovered a nest beside my house, and just as I was finding it I was lucky enough to observe some female returning and entering the nest. These guys are really big: 2 inches if I’m a day old, and they truly strike fear into most people (like me!) due to their size, but they go about their business and didn’t bother me a bit. I’m including my 2 best pics of the insect at rest, plus another in flight that I hope you like, and also one of the nest I found. Finally, I have a quicktime movie of my friend briefly visiting my back porch palm at my website here: http://www.jrj3.com/arthropods/ckwasp.mpg
Thanks!
James
P.S. May you never meet an Assassin Bug from the business end…

Hi James,
Just remember, people like you make our humble website what it is. Thanks for the wonderful contribution.

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