Appearance:
Cicada killer wasps have a black body with yellow stripes across the thorax and abdomen. The head and thorax are reddish and the wings yellow-brown. They resemble yellowjacket wasps. The female can produce a painful sting if disturbed.

Size:
Cicada killer wasps are very large, between 1 1/8 and 1 5/8 inches long.

Behavior:
Despite their intimidating size, Cicada killer wasps are solitary wasps that rarely sting unless disturbed. Males are especially aggressive concerning territory, but do not have a stinger; females do possess a stinger but do not provoke easily and rarely attack. Unlike social wasps such as yellowjackets and hornets that sting in defense, female cicada killers sting to paralyze their prey, mainly cicadas or locusts, which they feed to their young. Adult wasps feed on flower nectar and saps.

Cicada killers prefer to dig their burrows in bare, dry, and sandy areas in full sunlight. Each burrow is 6-10 inches deep and a ½ inch wide. They kick sand particles back as they dig, which forms a u-shaped mound at the entrance, and infested lawns can contain several mounds that can smother grass. However, they favor areas with little vegetation and rarely infest thick turf grass.

Cicada killers skim lawns and trees searching for cicadas, which they sting and paralyze. The wasp then drags or glides in back to their burrow where they seal the cicada off in a cell containing one egg. After spending winter pupating in an earthen cocoon, larvae complete develop in 7-14 days and emerge throughout the summer. Adults live for about three months, and produce one generation per year.

Habitat:
The ground-burrowing Cicada killer wasp can be found in sandy soil or loose clay in bare or grassy banks, sidewalks, driveways, and patio slabs. Some may nest in planters, window boxes, flowerbeds, but they usually prefer sunny areas with little or no vegetation. They may also establish burrows in golf course sand traps.

Interesting Fact:
A large population of Cicada killer wasps in one area can cause significant damage to a lawn. . A single burrow can contain up to 20 cells.

Control:
Cicada killer wasps are considered nuisance pests. To control and eliminate burrows, make sure to use adequate fertilizer and water your lawn often as they do not prefer thick grass. Entrance holes can be filled in with dirt to prevent further nesting.

Their large size and territorial tactics can be troublesome in outdoor commercial areas such as golf courses and pool entrances, and alarm people into avoiding these areas. Keep tree branches cut back from high-traffic areas as their favorite prey, cicadas, live on trees. Fill in any visible burrow holes.

If you are stung, promptly applying a paste of meat tenderizer with water or vinegar to the stung area will soothe the pain. The meat tenderizer contains the enzyme papain, derived from papaya, breaks down protein, which is why it tenderizes meat. Venom contains proteins, which is probably why this remedy works.

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