Most people recognize the black and red versions of Ammophila wasps. Eremnophila-aureonotata are a related genus and have solid black bodies. Scoliid wasps, another family, get characterized as beneficial insects because they help control green June beetle and other grubs that can cause lawn problems. Scoliid wasps are present in North Carolina from June to October.
Female Scoliids fly across lawns search for the grubs. They can also be seen literally walking around the soil actively hunting. Not much information on Thynnid Wasps Family Thynnidae exists on the internet. I bring this up because one of the species, Myzinum carolinianum, bears the Carolina name, and it, along with an additional three, maybe four species, are found in the state.
The picture shows Myzinum quinquecinctum. Note the thin body. Males have that hook like appendage at the bottom of the abdomen. For individuals interested in additional formal information the following quote was taken from the aforementioned article. Individuals of carolinianum are among the largest-bodied of the Myzinum species in North America.
Other large-bodied species include quinquecinctum and obscurum. These three species have similar modifications of the paramere, with a deep notch separating the dorsal from ventral lobes. Male carolinianumhave a distinctively modified metasomal tergum, a feature shared with quinquecinctum. The apical metasomal tergum is longitudinally grooved medially. Males can be distinguished from quinquecinctum by the bicolored wing membrane and flat volsella triangular in quinquecinctum.
The wing membrane in carolinanum is weakly brown-tinted with a darkened wing tip; in quinquecinctum it is evenly amber-colored.
Females are more difficult to distinguish but female quinquecinctum also have amber-colored wings. However, unlike quinquecinctum the flagellum of female carolinanum is dark brown to black, not red. The Crabronidae family consists of many familiar wasps with common names such as sand wasps, beewolves and square headed wasps. Then, the female wasps drag the paralyzed but live cicadas to their burrows where they stuff the prey into larval cells.
Afterward, the female cicada killers lay eggs in the cells. Larvae hatch from the eggs before burrowing into the cicadas and eating them from the inside out. Immature cicada killer wasps overwinter in the tunnels before emerging as adults in July and dying by mid-September.
Cicada killer wasps are considered beneficial because they prey upon cicadas that can harm young trees. Cicadas saw into branches to lay their eggs , severing twigs and causing leaves to turn brown which is a condition called flagging.
As a result, cicadas may be concerning to owners of nurseries and orchards because they can cause extensive flagging on young trees. One female cicada killer can gather or more cicadas in her lifetime, benefiting trees. Even though their large size can be intimidating, cicada killer wasps are not likely to sting you.
Unlike social bees and wasps, cicada killers will not guard their nests, so the female wasps rarely sting unless they are mishandled. Like any insect species, only female cicada killers can sting using a modified egg-laying organ called an ovipositor. So, unless you are an enticing cicada, you have no reason to fear cicada killer wasps!
Cicada killers Sphecius speciosus are members of the wasp genus Sphecius, which is composed of 21 species world wide. These insects are closely related to ants, bees, and other Hymenoptera. The cicada killer draws the attention of many people due to its large size and habitat preference, such as yards and lawns. They have small yellow markings on the thorax, plus six yellow markings on their large abdomen, three on each side.
Their heads and wings are a reddish color. The cicada killer is a solitary wasp species, unlike paper wasps and yellow jackets. The cicada killer pupates and overwinters underground in tunnels excavated by the parents the previous summer.
In North Carolina, they normally hatch out between June and July. The males emerge earlier than the females, and mating occurs after the females have hatched. The females usually mate with more than one male. They mate in designated mating areas where the males congregate, known as leks. After mating, the female cicada killer begins searching for an area to dig her burrows.
These areas are usually near the edges of woods where they can readily find cicadas, their food source. The soil cannot be very moist and must be well drained. Because of this habitat preference, it is not uncommon for cicada killers to inhabit grassy lawns around human habitats. The female, after choosing the nest site, begins to dig a burrow usually are not much deeper than a foot that can reach up to three feet long.
A female cicada killer hunts adult cicadas, large plant-feeding insects that create loud, familiar sounds in the summer. She grabs her prey and paralyzes it, dragging or slowly carrying the cicada back to the entrance of her nest. She then will lay an egg on the second leg of the paralyzed cicada. The cicada does not die right away; rather, it is eaten alive by the developing wasp larva.
The cicada remains alive so that the insides do not spoil. The larva hatches, eats the cicada, and then pupates over winter, finally emerging the following summer. The adult wasps feed on sap and nectar. It is not uncommon for the female cicada killer to drop the cicada that she is carrying, due to weight and distance.
One may occasionally find a paralyzed but not parasitized cicada on the ground, unable to move yet still alive. Most of the time these paralyzed insects are eaten by ants and birds. If you have cicada killers in your lawn, chances are that they will be there year after year.
Cicada killers choose lawns due to the various conditions that are presented. They enjoy southern facing hills with well drained soil. Adequate fertilizer and liming of the soil, combined with consistent watering, can render your lawn uninhabitable for this species. The first reported specimen of Vespa crabro was reported around in the state of New York.
Since that time, it has worked its way south along the east coast and has spread throughout the eastern United states. Other names for V. The European hornet is often mistakenly called the Japanese hornet, but in fact the Japanese hornet is not found in the United States but rather is restricted to the mountains of Japan and Asia.
The European hornet is the largest true hornet found in the United States. Queens, which may be seen in the spring, have more red than brown, and are larger than the workers. Nests are typically built in hollow trees, but they are often found in barns, sheds, attics, and wall voids of houses. They are usually not noticed until the colony has reached a large size.
This can present a problem to the human inhabitants due to the defensive nature of V. Unlike its cousin, the bald-faced hornet, European hornets rarely build nests that are free hanging or in unprotected areas.
Frequently, the nest is built at the cavity opening, rather than deep within. The outside of the exposed nest will be covered with coarse, thick, tan, paper-like material fashioned from decayed wood fibers. The hornet mashes it up with its mandibles and mixes it with saliva to form a pulp that they can shape into a layer for the nest. Nests built in walls may emit a noticeable unpleasant aroma. In the spring, each individual queen emerges from hibernation and begins nest building. She builds the nest, forages for food to feed to the larvae, and defends the nest all on her own.
Once a queen has produced enough workers to take over these duties, she remains inside the nest producing more offspring. The workers all of which are females forage for food and feed the young, as well as expand and defend the nest. Their diet consists mainly of large insects such grasshoppers, flies, and even yellow jackets. They can also exploit a honey bee hive for dead or weaker bees. They continue to enlarge the nest until fall when there may be occasionally up to 1, workers.
European hornets have a long seasonal cycle. Reproductives males and females are produced well into the fall. These reproductives mate and the females will serve as the next generation of queens the following spring. As winter approaches, the workers die off and the future queens abandon the nest and seek shelter in protected areas such as under loose bark, in rotting stumps, and other similar hollows.
Every year, the queens select new sites to build new nest and do not reuse abandoned nests. In the fall and winter, these nests can sometimes be viewed from far away in trees or in sheds. It is important to note that the colonies die over the winter and the nests can be removed afterwards.
Unlike most other stinging insects, European hornets also fly at night. They can be attracted to lighted windows in homes and may repeatedly fly into the glass with quite a lot of force. This may cause some people to falsely conclude that they hornets are trying to break the glass to enter their home. The hornets are also attracted to porch lights, so the hornets may sometimes be a nuisance for certain outdoor activities.
Hornet workers are sometimes noticed chewing bark from thin-barked trees or collecting oozing sap of trees. Control is best achieved by applying a pesticide directly into the entrance of the nest at dusk or night. Direct the spray into the nest opening for seconds, then move quickly away from the area to avoid any of the hornets that may emerge from the nest.
You may need to repeat the treatment the following evening. When spraying, it is advisable to wear a dark long-sleeved shirt and long pants. Do not hold a lit flashlight or stand near car headlights or other lights; the wasps may fly towards them after being agitated. If the nest is in a wall or other inaccessible area in your home, you may want to hire a professional pest control operator to do the work. Whenever possible, remove the nest from the wall.
Re-treatment may be needed every days, depending upon weather conditions. For more information on beekeeping, visit the Beekeeping Notes website. David R. Jennifer J. Cooperative Extension prohibits discrimination and harassment regardless of age, color, disability, family and marital status, gender identity, national origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex including pregnancy , sexual orientation and veteran status. URL of this page. Receive Email Notifications for New Publications.
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