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How to identify it
- Females are about 1.5 to nearly 2 inches long and males up to about 1.5 inches; Missouri's field guide says adults can exceed 1 1/2 inches.[1][4]
- The head and thorax are dark orange to rusty, shading to a black abdomen with three light yellow bands; the legs and the clear wings have an orange or rusty tinge.[1][4]
- On the cicada killer, ornate black hook-shaped edges cut into the yellow abdominal marks, a detail Missouri uses to separate it from the very similar eastern stizus.[4]
- Look for piles of loose soil or sand at burrow openings in lawns and beds, often near retaining walls. Missouri notes a shallow furrow often leads to the entrance, as if someone had dragged a thumb across the soil.[1][4]
Look-alikes
| Look-alike | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Northern giant hornet (formerly called Asian giant hornet) | Similar in size and color, but the hornet has a larger head with bigger jaws and smaller eyes. In North America it was found only in the Pacific Northwest, and as of December 2024 it has been declared eradicated from the United States.[1][4] |
| European hornet | A social wasp introduced from Europe; queens reach nearly 1 1/2 inches and workers about 3/4 inch. It builds a round paper nest in dark hollows such as hollow tree trunks, not a burrow in the ground.[4] |
| Eastern stizus | Looks almost exactly like a cicada killer, but the yellow abdominal marks have smooth edges, and it stocks its nest with katydids instead of cicadas.[4] |
Where it lives
Females dig burrows in dry, sandy or sparse soil, 12 to 15 inches deep and up to 36 inches long.[1][2]
Biology and life cycle
Males emerge first, in late June and July in Kentucky, and patrol areas where females will appear, hovering at eye level to inspect people and chasing off other males and insects.[1][4]
Females hunt annual (dog-day) cicadas, sting and paralyze them, and carry or drag them to the burrow, sometimes climbing tall plants and gliding toward the nest. Each burrow holds several cells; Missouri says each cell gets one or two cicadas, and nine or ten cells per nest is not unusual.[1][4]
Kentucky gives burrows as 12 to 15 inches deep and up to 36 inches long; Missouri says a female, which may live about a month, can dig tunnels four or more feet long in a single nest.[1][4]
The larva hatches and feeds on the stored cicada. Sources differ on the overwintering stage: Kentucky's cicada killer fact sheet says they overwinter as pupae, while Kentucky's yard wasp sheet and Missouri say the larvae overwinter in a cocoon in the burrow, with Missouri adding that they pupate for about a month in spring.[1][2][4]
Adults feed on nectar and other sweet plant juices. Velvet ants, a group of wasps, sneak into cicada killer burrows and lay eggs whose larvae eat the cicada killer pupa.[4]
Damage and signs
Health risk
Males have no stinger, only a pointed false stinger that can poke but cannot sting. Females are solitary, have no colony to defend and are mild-mannered; stings almost always happen only when someone steps on or grabs one.[1][4][2]
Control
Prevention
Control usually isn't needed. Cicada killers want well-drained, light soil in full sun, so thick, well-watered and fertilized turf, wood or stone mulch, shade or extra irrigation in the favored spot can make them move elsewhere.[1][2]
If someone is stung: wash the site with soap and water, put wrapped ice on it (10 minutes on, 10 off), and have someone stay with the person to watch for an allergic reaction. If a stinger is left, scrape it out; don't squeeze it or use tweezers.[5][6]
Call 911 for trouble breathing or wheezing, swelling of the face or mouth, throat tightness, trouble swallowing, weakness or fainting after a sting. People with a known severe sting allergy should carry their prescribed emergency kit, and Missouri advises anyone allergic to wasp stings to stay away from all wasps.[5][6][4]
Traps and physical control
Where they are a real nuisance, swatting individual wasps with a swatter or tennis racket cuts numbers; long-term relief comes from changing the landscape that attracts them.[1]
Pesticides
Kentucky's current fact sheet says an insecticidal dust applied directly into the tunnel openings can kill females as they crawl through, while liquid insecticides sprayed on the turf above the tunnels won't help. An older Kentucky yard wasp sheet suggested carbaryl applied to burrowed areas under a turf-pest label. Follow the label either way.[1][2]
Common questions
- Will the hovering wasps sting me?
- The hovering ones are usually males, which have no stinger at all. Females reserve their sting for cicadas and sting people only when stepped on, grabbed or handled roughly.[1][4]
- Should I spray my lawn for cicada killers?
- Usually not. Kentucky says liquid sprays over the turf don't reach the wasps; if treatment is truly needed, a dust goes directly into the tunnels, and changing the sunny, sparse, well-drained spot they prefer is the lasting fix.[1]
- Is it a murder hornet?
- No. The northern giant hornet has a bigger head and jaws, was only ever found in the Pacific Northwest in North America, and has been declared eradicated from the United States as of December 2024.[1][4]
Sources
- University of Kentucky Entomology, “ENTFACT-004: Cicada Killer Wasps.” entomology.mgcafe.uky.edu/ef004 (accessed 2026-11-11)
- University of Kentucky Entomology, “ENTFACT-411: Yard Wasps.” entomology.mgcafe.uky.edu/ef411 (accessed 2026-11-11)
- iNaturalist, “Sphecius speciosus taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51954 (accessed 2026-11-11)
- Missouri Department of Conservation, “Eastern Cicada-Killer (Field Guide).” mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/eastern-cicada-killer (accessed 2026-11-11)
- MedlinePlus, U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Insect bites and stings (Medical Encyclopedia 000033).” medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000033.htm (accessed 2026-11-11)
- CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), “Insects and Scorpions at Work.” www.cdc.gov/niosh/outdoor-workers/about/insects-and-scorpions.html (accessed 2026-11-11)