eastern cicada-killer wasp

Eastern cicada-killer wasp is a common, large, sand wasp. It occurs in the United States from the East Coast through the Great Plains, in southern Ontario Canada, and in northeastern Mexico. It is replaced in the west by the western cicada-killer wasp and Pacific cicada-killer wasp, neither of which occurs in Minnesota. It is found from late June to early September in forests, at forest edges, in city parks, and in gardens. Its large size and fearsome stinger are intimidating, but it rarely stings humans.

Adults can be from ⅝″ to 2″ (15 to 50 mm) in length. males are much smaller than females.

The body is black with rust-colored and yellow markings. The front part of the body (mesosoma) is connected to the rear part (metasoma) by a narrow waist that is not elongated petiole-like.

The head is rust colored. The plate on the face (clypeus) on both sexes is yellow. The antennae are thread-like. On the female they have 12 segments, including a long first segment (scape) at the base, a short second segment (pedicel), and a whip-like section (flagellum) with 10 segments (flagellomeres). On the male the antennae have 13 segments, including 11 flagellomeres.

The thorax is black and is covered with short, erect, reddish-yellow hairs. It has three segments, the prothorax, mesothorax, and metathorax. The exoskeletal plate covering the prothorax (pronotum) is short and collar-like. It is yellow on the upper surface, black on the forward-facing surface. On the mesothorax, the large front plate (scutum) is mostly black. There is a narrow yellow stripe above each wing base, a small yellow spot below it, and a rust-colored spot in front of it extending to the front margin. There is also a yellow spot on each side of the thorax below the wing base. The smaller rear plate (scutellum) is rust colored. The upper surface of the metathorax (metanotum) is entirely black, with no yellow markings.

The metasoma on the female has six visible segments. On the male it has seven visible segments. The first three segments have a yellow band at the rear. The band is interrupted in the middle on all three segments. There are sometimes smaller markings on the fourth segment. The remaining segments are entirely black. The female has a large stinger at the end of her abdomen. The male has a smaller spine, a “pseudo-stinger”, at the tip of his abdomen.

The legs are yellowish and rust colored. On the middle leg the fourth segment (tibia) has two spurs at the tip. On the female, The tibiae on the hind leg has two greatly enlarged flat spines at the tip.

The wings are large and Smokey brown. The forewing has three submarginal cells.

Total length: ⅝″ to 2″ (15 to 50 mm)

Late June to early September

Despite its large size and fearsome stinger, the female will rarely sting a human unless it is roughly handled. The male has a spine-like projection at the end of its abdomen and can jab a human with it, but the “pseudo-stinger” has no venom.

The wings are held out at an angle when at rest.

The female creates a nest by digging a burrow in bare soil, often with the help of several other females. Individual egg cells are excavated as needed at the end of the burrow. A burrow may be up to four feet long and contain more than 16 egg cells, but the typical burrow is about 10″ to 20″ (25 to 50 cm) long and may have10 or more cells. After capturing and paralyzing a cicada, the female will drag it to the nest. Often, she will drag the captured prey up a tree trunk or fence post so that she can fly to the nest. This is necessary because the cicada may weigh up to 88% more than the wasp. Each cell is provisioned with one or two paralyzed cicadas, an egg is laid, and the cell is sealed.

When the egg hatches, the larva consumes the cicada, spins a cocoon, and hibernates. An adult emerges in early to mid-summer the following year.

Like the cicadas they prey on, adult eastern cicada-killer wasps are short lived. Males die shortly after mating. Females die after laying all of their eggs. The adult typically lives no more than two months.

Cicadas

Flower nectar

Sources

24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 8/2/2025).

Subfamily
The tribe Bembicini was formerly in the subfamily Nyssoninae. A later study (Bohart and Menke, 1976) moved to the already existing subfamily Bembicinae based on a comprehensive analysis of morphological data.

Tribe
The same study moved the genus Sphecius from the tribe Gorytini to the tribe Bembicini, also based on a comprehensive analysis of morphological data.

I love finding new bugs. I did not think I’d see anything cool since I moved to a bigger city and not in the country anymore. I’m pretty excited to learn about this because hopefully I will hear cicadas this year.

eastern cicada killer wasp 01
Jul 22, 2023

eastern cicada killer wasp 02
Jul 22, 2023

eastern cicada killer wasp 03
Jul 22, 2023

The Cicada Killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus)
Homeowner BBQ

Sphecius Speciosus
Wiki4All

Cicada Killer aka Sphecius speciosus
Ronald Schulz

Jen Keller of Lake City MN
7/31/2025

Location: Ohuta Park, Lake City, MN

First time I’ve ever seen this in our city, but did research that they can be found in the area.

Location: Moorhead, MN 56560

I love finding new bugs. I did not think I’d see anything cool since I moved to a bigger city and not in the country anymore. I’m pretty excited to learn about this because hopefully I will hear cicadas this year.