A cicada killer sting causes sharp pain that may last as long as a week, but these wasps are not aggressive, and they sting only when provoked. It spins a cocoon and remains in the cell until the next spring. The wasp larva hatches in a day or two and grows rapidly while feeding on the cicada, completing development in less than 2 weeks. The female wasp places an egg under a femur of one of the cicada’s middle legs and then seals the cell. The prey can weigh up to three times as much as the predator, so most wasps drag cicadas along the ground and up a tree or other vertical object, from which they can launch themselves downwards toward their burrows. She hunts cicadas, and after locating one, she paralyzes it with her sting and transports it to her elaborate underground burrow. Each female digs burrows 6-10″ deep and oval chambers perpendicular to the main tunnel that hold each of her sixteen or so eggs along with the paralyzed prey. The excavation activities often create mounds of soil in lawns. They then use their forelegs to push the soil under their bodies and their hind legs to expel the dirt from the tunnel. They loosen compacted earth by biting at it with their mandibles. After mating, the females excavate nests in the ground, usually in full sun where vegetation is sparse and the soil is light and well-drained. Adult wasps appear about the first week of June in Arkansas, at about the time when cicadas begin to emerge. They are common throughout the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, in areas where annual cicadas are prevalent. Cicada killers are large wasps, nearly 1 1/4″ long, resembling large yellow jackets or hornets.
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