#cicada killer

[crevicedwelling]

while wandering around at night looking for bugs this summer, I came across this cicada killer on the night shift! I’m not sure if they usually excavate their tunnels after dark, but she was hard at work hauling out sand (and a young isopod!) with the big spurs on her feet.

[calculated-chaos]

Generally, I have a grudging detente with anything wasp-shaped. I know we need them, they serve an important role in various ecosystems, and so forth, but I've been stung enough times that a yellow-and-black-striped buzz will set my heart racing. Ugh.

So imagine how I felt when I saw something that looked like a massive mutant wasp next to me on a walking path. My brain went AAA GIANT HORNET even though we don't have those in the Midwest. It was huge. I wasn't sure if I should even walk past it.

However...I've been absorbing a lot of bug positivity from @onenicebugperday lately. So I stood there for a minute and watched the mega-wasp.

It didn't act aggressive. It crawled along the curling tendrils of one flower head, then buzzed over to check out another one. I slowly took out my phone and snapped a picture. (From a reasonable distance. Photo cropped for detail...)

Looked it up online when I got home, and it appears to be Sphecius speciosus, the Eastern cicada killer, which is actually super chill when it comes to humans.

Various entomology sites inform me that if it's a guy wasp, he has a pointy butt, but no stinger. He might fly around someone threateningly, but he's basically saying "Hey, get outta my turf." If you leave, he won't follow. If it's a lady wasp, she has a stinger, but she'd rather not waste it on a human unless they do something aggressively stupid like try to catch her. She'd rather save her stings for cicadas to feed to her (eventual) kids. TIL!

[geosesarma]

This female cicada killer, Sphecius speciosus, doing what she does best (cicada-killing). Her impressively sized quarry is a swamp cicada, Neotibicen tibicen, the most common cicada calling during the summer in the northeast. He was quickly dispatched by her paralytic venom and carried off from a tree to her nest, where she'll lay an egg on one, or multiple cicadas (female larvae are generally provided with more food) -8/23 Bergen County, NJ

[onenicebugperday]

@alchemiccolored​ submitted: the page won’t let me submit more than one bug at a time for some reason :( these will all be from [removed] (remove location pls)

there were a whole bunch of these guys hanging around a dirt pit!

huge fan of your blog :) 

Luckily I can just paste the other pics right into the same post :) And thank you! The first is a mayfly. The second pic is a whole bunch of cicada killers - probably males, as they’re often seen in groups fighting one another. And the last is a longhorn beetle, though it’s a bit too blurry to confidently say which one.

[bugology]

Don’t boost their ego, please

[bowelfly]

cicada killer

[chameleocoonj]

cicada killer + termite

[taggthewanderer]

Eastern cicada-killer wasp I found a couple weeks ago.

(Not pictured: The turd in front of it)

[i-am-literally-deranged]

tw bugs

LOOK AT THE NEW PIECE OF MY COLLECTION!!!

Thank you weird guy at work who gave me a wasp

[cant-think-of-a-good-one]

yeah this is my daughter Lassname Lastestneim

[terrified-spider]

Here's the next two cards! (:

The suits don't have any particular theme, I'm just picking subjects from a list of species I've made. Aside from one card I've already planned for, none of the minor arcana will intentionally have a creature that somehow matches the card's meaning.

[constanzel]

My mom found this "murder hornet" for me. She was laying on the ground and on her way out. (Cicada Killer Wasp)

[badbinoculars]

[onenicebugperday]

@frankenmouse submitted: A lovely Eastern Cicada Killer wasp! She’s about the size of a hummingbird moth (or your thumb!), but is deeply uninterested in anything that is not 1) a nice hole, 2) a flower, or 3) a cicada.

Lol the dog watching. Cute. But yes she is very busy doing wasp stuff! Good for her.

[wastedpotentialsblog]

It is Cicada Killer season here in Texas which means everyone is freaking out about the loud scary wasps digging ant mound sized holes in their backyards.

[vulture115]

Engineer!Jaune (Based on my ask to @howlingday) Ruby: YOU WHAT?!

Jaune: Yeah, just like my Uncle Dell Conagher-Arc said: “Hey look, buddy. I'm an engineer — that means I solve problems. Not problems like 'What is beauty?' because that would fall within the purview of your conundrums of philosophy. I solve practical problems.”

Ruby: BUT YOU DELIBERATELY CUT YOUR OWN ARM!!!

Jaune: Yeah? So did my uncle

Ruby: JAUNE!!!

Jaune: What?! It’s the only way to make sure Nora or you fires my Plasma guns!!!

Ruby: But you didn’t need to cut your own arm!!!

Yang: I heard screaming, what’s wrong?

Ruby: JAUNE CUT HIS OWN ARM!!!

Yang: WTF JAUNE?! I KNOW YOU’RE CRAZY AFTER ALL OF THIS 3 YEARS, BUT THIS IS TOO FAR!!!

Blake: Yang, honey, please don’t scream *Sees Jaune’s arm* What happened to your arm

Ruby: HE CUT HIS OWN ARM OFF!!!

Blake: WHAT?! PLEASE TELL ME YOU’RE JOKING

Ruby: I’M NOT!!!

Weiss: WOULD ALL OF YOU PLEASE SHUT UP?! PLEASE STOP SCREAMING!!! *Spots Jaune’s arm* What happened to your arm?

Blake: He cut it himself

Weiss: YOU WHAT?! THAT IS PREPOSTEROUS!!!

Jaune: I did.

Weiss: ….

*Knocks on the door*

Jaune: Who is it? *Opens the door and sees Uncle Dell*

Ruby: Who is it Jaune?

Jaune: *Excited* It’s my uncle! Uncle Dell? What’s up!!!

Uncle Dell: Hey kid, heard you cut your own arm. Is it true?

Jaune:*In a slight Texan accent* I did

Uncle Dell: As i expected from a 10Y/O kid who obtained 11 PhDs

RWBY: He’s what?!

Uncle Dell: Yup, he sure did. *Speaks back to Jaune* Hey kid, who’s these fine ladies? Is one of them is your girlfriend?

Jaune: *Still in the same accent* No uncle, all of them are girlfriends and girlfriends. And one of them is in a polyamorous relationship. *Points to Ruby* That’s Ruby *Points to Weiss* Her girlfriend Weiss *Points to Blake and Yang* The emo one (Blake: HEY!) is Blake and the Yellow one is Yang. They’re the one whose on a polyamorous relationship.

Uncle Dell: With who?

Pyrrha: *In the door* Blake! Yang! Can you help me with my groceries please? *Sees Jaune* Jaune!!! *Proceed to run at full speed to hug Jaune*

Jaune: Whoa! *falls into his own back

Pyrrha: We’ve missed you so much!!!*Felt something metallic*… What happened to your arm Jaune?

Yang: *Helping Pyrrha with the groceries* He cut his own arm

Pyrrha: HE’S WHAT?!

Yang: That’s not even the most shocking part, he also got 11 PhDs.

Pyrrha: *Staring at Jaune and Dell talking to each other and seeing him gives an Australium to Jaune*…. No wonder he’s always the top in every class except combat.

*After helping the girls with the groceries, maybe around 5-10 minutes*

Jaune: Welp, We’ll talk later Uncle Dell, we’re going to have a cookout and those groceries won’t lift by themselves.

Uncle Dell: Yeah, we’ll talk later about the sentry improvements. Got a call from work. Y’know, the usual RED and BLU stuff.

Jaune: No problem uncle, how about we meet at our usual bar?

Uncle Dell: Sure thing bud, say the time and date and i’m on my way. With the rest of the crew ofcourse.

Jaune: Heavy still pissed at me for beating him in an arm wrestling huh?

Uncle Dell: I mean, you’d rarely sees a 15 Y/O kid beating a 6’5 400 Pounds man with Aura in arm wrestling contests. *Chuckle* Well i gotta go *Gets in his 1966 Chevy Pickup*

Jaune: Sure Uncle Dell. Be sure to not be dead

Uncle Dell: The machine’ll revive me kiddo *Dabs Jaune perfectly* Bye kid. *Drives off*

Jaune: *Chuckles* Bye uncle Dell! *Waves his metallic arm*

The girls: *Speaking together in a dark tone* You got some explaining to do. Jaune~.

Jaune: Oh… shit….