Sphecius speciosus (eastern cicada killer, the cicada hawk) Eastern cicada-killer wasp holding a paralyzed cicada at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge
Description
English: Eastern cicada killer wasp (Sphecius speciosus) holding dead cicada at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, Philadelphia, PA.
Date 26 July 2006
Source http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/natdiglib&CISOPTR=11642&CISOBOX=1&REC=1
Author Bill Buchanan, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eastern_cicada_killer_wasp_(Sphecius_speciosus)_with_Cicada.jpg
Sphecius speciosus, often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large digger wasp species. Cicada killers are large, solitary wasps in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid which preys on cicadas, though in North America it is typically applied to a single species, S. speciosus. However, since there are multiple species of related wasps, it is more appropriate to call it the eastern cicada killer. This species occurs in the eastern and midwest U.S. and southwards into Mexico and Central America. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. In North America they are sometimes called sand hornets, although they are not hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae. Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Crabronidae, Tribe: Gorytini, Genus: Sphecius, Species: Sphecius speciosus (Drury, 1773).