Finally, an insect in my yard that is NOT a pest!

I have been seeing cicada killers flying all around my front flower bed for the last several weeks and I have been enjoying watching them. They eat flower nectar and do not sting unless provoked. Actually the males do not even have stingers.

This morning I saw dozens of piles of loose soil around holes about an inch across. As I watched Cicada Killers would enter the holes. I did some research and discovered that the females dig these holes and drag one or two cicadas into the holes to feed their developing larvae. These larvae then pupate in 2 weeks and remain in the ground until next summer.

Sadly, some people are killing these beneficial insects thinking that they ar Murder Hornets or that they will sting them. Both assumptions are false, and I really enjoy having them on my property.



Cicada Killer Burrow by Brownrexx, on Flickr

Cicada Killer by Brownrexx, on Flickr

I can see how they might get mistaken for a Yellow Jacket.

I find this very interesting. I have never heard of them before so thank you so much for sharing!

@MissS they are huge, probably 3 times the size of a yellow jacket.

I saw one drag a cicada up a tree one time.

They are very chill. The cicadas here outnumber the cicada killers a million to one. Woe to the unlucky cicada that does get stung and later entombed by the cicada killer.

You can see in the photo , they are making holes in dry areas. If someone is scared of them or they are in a high traffic area, keep the area near the nest moist. They don't like entering a wet site, and water is not expensive or toxic. Just don't spray briskly directly inside or they will zoom out and defend!

- Lisa

I took some pics earlier in the year...I haven't seen any for a while. I did try to improve the crossroads in the backyard where they were nesting. That area got rototilled lightly and reseeded in May. I only saw a few instead of the dozens at a time there were the last few years. I have to say, dozens of them buzzing around aggressively, not a whole lot of fun to walk through. No one was ever stung though, and I don't think the dogs were either.

These pics are from July 25th.

Tarantula hawks are another huge critter that doesn't bother anyone.
But the sting if stung by the one we have in Texas is second only to the bullet ant in pain.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepsis_grossa

We have had tons of these cicada wasps in our backyard this year and last. While they may be beneficial, they are extremely damaging. Our backyard was totally dug up by them, they damaged our walkway but tunneling under the rocks. Being in a drought, keeping the area moist is not an option. They are interesting to watch, they are massive insects, they serve a purpose, but wow - do they do a number on your property if they take a liking to it!