This once angry (now dead) female is known as a "cicada killer wasp." This particular variety of wasp is one of the biggest I have ever seen. Unfortunately, some of them have taken up residence in our garden.
Hubby, who is allergic to bee stings and the like, captured this one. The males are very aggressive and like to dive bomb gardeners, but they can't sting. Only the females, like this one, can sting. They don't make hives - these particular wasps make burrows in the ground. They paralyze cicadas and take them down the burrow for the larvae to feed on until they are old enough to fly away and make their own home.
Hubby caught this one by placing a jar upside down over the top of the burrow. The wasp flew into the jar when she tried to leave. He put a lid on the jar and three days later, the scary thing had kicked the bucket.
We are generally animal lovers, but I HATE insects, especially ones that bite or sting. I didn't mind that Hubby killed this nasty thing.
2 comments:
My husband hates anything that flies. I can just see him running and screaming if he saw one of those!! (he's allergic to bees too!)
We call those yellow jackets in the south. They are mean things. I have never been stung, thank gosh. I too am allergic and scared of anything with a stinger. I am allergic to fire ants too. We have a couple yellow jackets in our yard, but I have yet to see where they are living.
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