Hornet Queen?
Location: Central Idaho near Boise.
July 22, 2011 1:47 pm
I was recently driving on a stretch of highway between Boise ID and small town to the East of Boise and was startled by a loud thump and then a giant hornet looking but that bounced onto the spedometer console. I pulled over and moved the unfortunate insect into my water bottle. My main reason for this is that I have seen these insects around but have not been able to take a good enough picture to submit to your site for examination. I have done a bit of research on my own and I think this is a queen hornet since we have no shortage of yellow jacket hornets in this area. My experience with these creatures is that they are not aggressive. This is such a marvelous specimen its too bad it had to meet such an unfortunate end, but maybe it can serve to educate now. It is about 1.5 inches long and has a wingspan of well over 2 inches as you can see in the pictures. It is a beautiful orange and yellow color and has dark orange tinted wings. Could you shed some enlightenme nt on this bug for me please, my whole office is extremely curious.
Signature: Dave from Idaho

Western Cicada Killer

Hi Dave,
At first we were troubled by what we thought we were going to have to tag as Unnecessary Carnage, but upon reflecting upon the totality of your emailed message, we have decided that this killing was justified in the interest of knowlege, especially since your message acknowledges its “unfortunate end”.  We are a bit sensitive lately because we have seen so many photos of dead Eastern Cicada Killers, Great Golden Digger Wasps, and Katydid Hunters, and we believe this may be only the second photo we have ever received of the Western Cicada Killer, Sphecius grandis, which we have identified using BugGuide. This magnificent predator surely deserves its species name grandis, and you can see some wonderful photos of living specimens on BugGuide.

Daniel,
I do appreciate your understanding.  The death of this beautiful creature was in no way on purpose.  It flew into the door frame of my car with my window open and caused its own unintended death before it landed on the speedometer console.  I am grateful that is has such a strong carapace so that I was able to retrieve it in whole and not in pieces.  Having lived in Idaho my whole life I and never encountering a cicada I did not know that it was possible to have cicada killers in this state, but further investigation reveals that we do indeed have cicadas in Idaho. Thank you so much for your prompt and informative response.  I will post your links on our internal website so that everyone can know what this was.
Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave,
Oh, we actually misunderstood.  We thought you put the living Cicada Killer in the water bottle and it died after.  Your followup clarifies that it died upon impact.  Also, Eric Eaton has provided his insight into this creature’s identity.

Eric Eaton confirms genus, but not species
Daniel:
I can’t conclude whether this is Sphecius grandis or S. convallis from this image….it looks squarely between the two given the markings!  I’d need a magnified view of the first two abdominal segments, and even that might not be truly conclusive.
Eric

Daniel,
Upon inspection of the images you have on bugguide and my specimen, along with the information provided by Mr. Eaton, I believe this to be S. srandis [ed. note: grandis perhaps] and not S. convallis.   Although my pictures do not illustrate it well, this does have curved antennal segments, although the torso segments do make it hard to pick.  I’m no expert though, just a curious observer.
Thanks,
Dave

Yes, sorry about that J.  I have posted the link to the bug guide on our internal webpage so people can go look it up themselves.  I am very pleased to learn how many people in the agency have such a keen interest in insects.  I have only ran across 2 people that were not wholly intrigued by this specimen, and those 2 are deathly allergic to bees so it is kind of a phobia for them.

Hi again Dave,
So many people claim to be “deathly allergic” to bees.  It is our belief that it is probably an imagined allergy in many cases just because a bee sting is unpleasant.  A bee sting or a wasp sting generally swells, but nearly dying from a sting would seem to be more of a rarity than the norm.

Daniel,
Upon inspection of the images you have on bugguide and my specimen, along with the information provided by Mr. Eaton, I believe this to be S. srandis [ed. note:  grandis perhaps] and not S. convallis.   Although my pictures do not illustrate it well, this does have curved antennal segments, although the torso segments do make it hard to pick.  I’m no expert though, just a curious observer.
Thanks,
Dave

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Wasp like insect
Location: Central North Carolina
July 23, 2011 10:35 am
body banded yellow and white. Hundreds of these insects in only a certain area. Flies close to ground mostly and seldom lite. About 1 inch long. Do not attempt to sting when I walk among them. I would guess they are mating but have never seen them mate.
Signature: Don Phillips

Cicada Killer

Hi Don,
As we do every summer, we are fielding numerous identification requests for your insect, the Cicada Killer.  We also spend considerable time trying to dissuade folks from exterminating them because they fear getting stung.  Cicada Killers are not aggressive wasps, and we would like our readership to pay special attention to what you have written:  “Hundreds of these insects in only a certain area. …  About 1 inch long. Do not attempt to sting when I walk among them.“  Male Cicada Killers tend to try to defend territory, but males do not have stingers, so despite their sometimes aggressive behavior, they are harmless.  Females do have stingers, but the purpose of the stinger is to paralyze Cicadas to feed to her brood.  Female Cicada Killers are not aggressive and they have no interest in stinging people, though we acknowledge that they are most likely capable of stinging should one be handled or accidentally fly down an unbuttoned shirt or blouse.  Thanks so much for your letter.  It has given us an opportunity to share with our readership that despite you having hundreds of Cicada Killers nearby, you have not been threatened.

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Ground Dwelling Black and Orange Flying Insect
Location: Central New York
July 22, 2011 10:46 am
Dear Bugman,
We have hundreds of these flying in our backyard. We started seeing them (in very small numbers a couple of years ago). The live in solitary holes, mounds of dirt around the holes, hover close to the ground, chase anyone who ventures near… Some have clear wings and some have orange wings. They’re between 1 1/2 inches and 2 inches long. The ’come out’ around mid July and last until sometime in August. At first we thought they cicada killers – because they carry bugs back to their lair; but they definitely don’t look like the pictures of c.killers I’ve seen. Can you tell me what these are?
Signature: Kitty

Swarming Cicada Killers

Hi Kitty,
These are most certainly Cicada Killers and we are very intrigued by the swarming behavior you are describing.  Since Cicada Killers are solitary wasps, they do not swarm in the same sense that honey bees or hornets swarm, but we imaging that they present a frightening picture because of their large size.  First, we understand that the aggressors are generally male Cicada Killers that are defending their territory while trying to lure prospective mates to nest in areas they are protecting.  Male Cicada Killers do not possess a stinger, so while they may dive bomb you, your pets, and even birds that enter the vicinity, they are perfectly harmless.  Female Cicada Killers do possess a stinger, but they are more interested in using it on Cicadas so that they can feed their brood.  We have not received a verified report of anyone being stung by a Cicada Killer though we imagine a female is quite capable of stinging.  You indicate that you have hundreds of them and that is most likely due to an increase in recent years of the number of Cicadas.  Insect populations tend to by cyclical.  We are very curious to know how this drama will play out.  Please keep us posted as to any developments.  We are positively thrilled with your photos that clearly show numerous Cicada Killers in close proximity to one another.

Swarming Cicada Killers

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Large Bee?
Location: Lansing, Michigan
July 20, 2011 1:30 pm
Hello,
Over the past month I have noticed several (6-10) very large bees hanging around a lamppost near my work. I am Michigan and first noticed these around the beginning of July. I have been trying to get a photo of one, but they never stay still and they are very quick. If I had to guess the length I would say 1.25 – 2 inches.
Do you know what this is? I have never seen one before.
Signature: B

Mating Cicada Killers

Dear B,
These are not bees.  They are Sand Wasps, more specifically, mating Cicada Killers.  Because of their large size, many people find them intimidating, but they are not an aggressive species and we have not received any confirmations of individuals who have been stung by Cicada Killers, though we acknowledge that the possibility exists, and should it occur, we would imagine the sting would be painful.

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