Hobbies And Interests
Cicada Killers
These brownish, solitary wasps are about five cm long and have black and yellow stripes on their abdomens. Cicada killers usually make their appearance at around the time their prey, cicadas, start appearing in July and August. Female cicada killers paralyze prey with their stings, but males do not sting. Females dig burrows half an inch wide by six to 10 inches long, heaping mounds of dirt on top of the burrows. Dr. Keith Hansen, horticulturist with the Smith County Extension, emphasizes the significance of cicada killers in ridding areas of annoying cicadas. (See References 4)
Great Golden Digger Wasp
Found in most parts of the Americas, the great golden digger wasp, scientific name Sphex ichneumoneus, has a conspicuously hairy, golden upper body and head, and orange-colored legs. Specimens range in length from half an inch to close to two inches. While in flight the wasp creates a rustling sound with its wings. The adult wasp drinks sap from plants and nectar from flowers.
Females may build as many as half a dozen burrows for nesting purposes. After digging a burrow the female wasp searches for prey to carry back to the burrow to serve as sustenance for her future offspring. The Galveston County Master Gardeners website considers the great golden a beneficial species because it rids gardens of pests such as grasshoppers and katydids. (See References 5)
Scoliid Wasps
Also known as the digger wasp, Scoliid wasps measure about five-eighths of an inch and have bluish-black bodies and purplish-black wings. A stripe occurs on each side of the hairy abdomen section. These wasps, like many others, do not seek out people to sting them. Scoliid wasps aid gardeners by parasitizing pesky beetle grubs. Adult wasps favor flowers as food sources. (See References 6)
Cerceris Fumipennis
Cerceris fumipennis is a solitary wasp species that preys mainly upon beetles. As in some other wasp species, the females paralyze prey with their stings and transport the victims to their burrows for the wasp larvae to consume. C. fumipennis tends to make nesting burrows in dry, sandy terrains. According to the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, these beneficial wasps establish a sort of biological control over a pest, the emerald ash borer, an insect that devastates native ash trees. (See References 3)
Yellow Jackets
Yellow jackets are often mistaken for Africanized honey bees because, unlike wasp species like the cicada killers, yellow jackets will aggressively attack creatures surrounding their nesting mounds. Yellow jackets possess bright yellow and black bands on their abdomens that are quite unlike the brown- or tan-and-black markings on the bee. You can find yellow jacket nests in gardens, in pastures and along roadsides. These wasps feed on flower nectar while the larvae, immature forms of the wasp, consume spiders and other insects brought by adults. Dr. Keith Hansen suggests caution when dealing with yellow jackets since they frequent campgrounds and parks, may display aggressive behavior to humans and are able to inflict numerous stings. (See References 4)