Eastern cicada killer (Sphecius speciosus), Lincoln Home National Historic Site, 2015.

Often referred to simply as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, it is probably more appropriate to call it the eastern cicada killer to distinguish it from multiple related wasp species. It occurs in the eastern and midwest US all the way down to Central America. These insects are expert cicada killers and serve as a natural controller of cicada populations. These solitary wasps are very different from social wasps like yellowjackets or hornets. The females are not aggressive and only rarely sting if they are handled roughly by humans; males have no sting at all. This female is paralyzing a cicada to bring back to her nest as food for her offspring. She will deposit one male egg onto one paralyzed cicada or one female egg with several cicadas. This is became the females are twice as large as males. Her egg will hatch in only one to two days, devouring the unfortunate cicada. The larvae complete their development in about 2 weeks. Overwintering occurs as a mature larvae within a coccoon; no adults overwinter. There is only one generation per year.