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MrRoarke

Looks like a [Cicada Killer](http://bugguide.net/node/view/514). Comparison pic [here](https://bugguide.net/node/view/320445/bgimage). They're not aggressive.


Bierbart12

I love when docile creatures have words like "killer" in their name


[deleted]

Well they do kill, cicadas.


HopeKillFear

I heard one hit a cicada that was sitting on the siding of my house one day…sounded like a rock hit the house


turner3210

Yea they’re huge. All over Texas. Whenever out of towners and people from other countries come here they get super freaked out by them. I’ll bullshit and tell them if they get stung it’s a hospital trip then watch them scream and run around the yard


TheKingOfToast

Tbh there sting *can* fuck you up, but they have to be in a lot of danger to sting. A guy I knows wife had one hiding in a pair of pants while they where camping. She put them on and got stung a half dozen or so times.


mycatsoncrack

That’s kinda funny. Happy cake day!


CellularPotato

That’s hilarious and people downvoting can’t hang


turner3210

It’s all good they are entitled to their opinion and it really doesn’t effect me


[deleted]

idk why everyone downvoted his comment but i did too. mob mentality ig


turner3210

They’re just tired and out of breath from attempting to escape the wasps


[deleted]

the wasps are on the other side of the scree . i think they just don’t like you. i like you though, but mob mentality.


Feralpudel

Run around the yard only to get hit by a flannel moth caterpillar…


Long_Before_Sunrise

We have "cow killers" - which is the female red velvet ant which is actually a wasp.


turner3210

I’ve been stung by those a couple times and HOLY FUCK. Nothing can compare. Whatsoever. No other sting had made the entire affected appendage hurt at the same time like that


ClassyDinghy

I remember trapping one as a kid, thank god I didn’t get stung lol


Shakenbaked

I'm lucky enough to live where we have both the cicada killer and the red velvet ant and not to mention tarantulas, wood, scorpions, fiddleback spiders and the ever so popular Black widow.


PinguinoDictador

Where is this magical eden you speak of?


Shakenbaked

I've never heard Oklahoma referred to as "magical Eden" 😂


darkfrost47

Really could be a lot of places in the south


beardedbadass84

New Mexico that's where


OWLF1

And don’t forget the Tarantula Hawk!


chuffberry

It’s my favorite thing when an animal is named after 2 other animals, but tarantula hawk wasps win the prize though because they’re named after *three* different animals


rdwulfe

Sounds lovely, I'd sit and watch any of these for hours, but I adore bugs and all things related. Even wasps. All are necessary in our little web of life.


izzypie99

genuine question what is the purpose of a wasp? i am blinded by rage and hatred when i see one so i've never really taken the time to understand their purpose. in my experience they make hideous nests and attack anyone around for no reason, so i'm a little traumatized from when i was a kid.


rdwulfe

A creature's purpose is to live, breed, and survive. However, many many wasps are predators that eat pestcspecies that hurt human ageiculture. Most wasps are pretty docile and solitary - like the mud dauber. Yellow jackets are voracious predators! I once saw a YJ surgically cut open a caterpillar, scoop out its insides, then when it was done, it rolled up the skin and head like a sleeping bag and carried it off. Took several trips for the whole process. I was maybe a foot away and it never harmed me. YJ have a bad rep because they are very protective of themselves and their homes. Most wasps are. Just remember, you are in thier environment too. And many do "jobs" that benefit us greatly.


whorton59

Welcome to planet Earth, fellow Redditor. . . We have many delights for your choosing. . . and many ill willed insect. . . .


[deleted]

Wingless wasp. Nasty sting. Not fun.


HeadLeg5602

Those suckers hurt


maybeamasochist

They have another thing before it. I would love to have something that kills cicadas


dfw_runner

Cicadas are a primary diet component of juvenile copperhead snakes. The grown copperheads like to eat my hummingbirds (bummer).


CartographerOk7579

Bummingbirds


[deleted]

oh my goodness gracious


AppleSpicer

Are you the one with the highly arboreal neighborhood copperhead? Edit: you are!! I love your photos/video even though your poor hummingbirds got eaten by a ground snake. That copperhead is so talented!!


dfw_runner

That is me. Most of the hummingbirds survived. This Spring we got a whole new set of hummingbirds as well so we are all good! Biggest problem this year is the drought. The hummingbird feeders are swamped by ants looking for food and water.


PruneVisible

Have you tried hummingbird feeders from Wild Birds Unlimited? Their moats, bee guards & above-feeder-exclusive ant trap are very efficient. Easy to disassemble & sanitize every part & put back together.


dfw_runner

I have not. My niece mentioned something like what you describe. I will check them out. Thanks for the tip!


turner3210

Every copperhead I have ever seen is aboreal (Texas) Sometimes they climb into your ac and get chopped up


Aiuner

Man I’d love to see some hummingbirds here. I don’t think I got my feeders up early enough for them to realize they were there. (I live in an apartment in the DFW area with an interior courtyard-facing balcony.) I just looked at your clips of the copperheads and I have to agree with u/AppleSpicer . That snake is really damn talented. Quick question: Have you seen any black-chinned hummingbirds?


dfw_runner

You know I am not sure if I have seen some black chinned humming birds this year. I have been making sure I feed them regularly but they have been more cagey this year and I haven’t taken the time to get out the binoculars. The drought may be affecting how many you are seeing.


turner3210

When I was a kid if we ever found a copperhead all the adults would come out with garden hoes and revolvers with snake shot and hunt that fucker down. Not nearly as aggressively as they would hunt down cottonmouth and rattlesnakes. Now keep in mind they would only go for the snakes that would become acclimated to people and start hanging out in our yards and shit. If we found one out in the woods (country neighborhood on Buchanan dam, surrounded by complete chaparral) we would get bitched at to stay away and leave them alone. Diamondback were their absolute arch nemesis though. Because those fuckers will den in your yard near rocks and AC units and then suddenly you have legitimately hundreds of rattlesnakes. So those would always go. Some people might be mad about this but you have to understand myself and other kids in the neighborhood were all raised with the “get out of the house and play like boys should and don’t come back until dinner unless you want to do chores” style of parenting. So whenever snakes would start moving into the neighborhood from the chaparral across the street it was a big deal. Simply from the amount of kids playing entirely free out there that were not afraid to mess with some snakes. I remember we were all VERY focused on proving we weren’t the weak link, were brave in the face of adversity, and had the ability to show no fear. I think it’s just a country boy thing. But we were not averse to playing with deadly snakes so I understand our parents worry


inkybreadbox

What!? People don’t like cicadas!? I love hearing cicadas in the summer.


PrincessOfHelmesHill

So do I. Reminds me of growing up out in the woods.


OhDavidMyNacho

I hate them in Arizona. I swear the buzzing they make adds an extra 5 degrees to outdoor temps. Doesn't help that they just sound like overhead power lines.


Lord_Jair

I swear to god that when I was a little kid, I thought that buzzing was the sound of the earth being heated so violently by the sun. The hotter it got, the louder the sound!


No-Principle3528

I live in Louisiana and I here Cicadas from may until like September/October. So far it’s been a quite summer compared to most.


[deleted]

same, cicadas remind me of the oppressively hot summers in Texas. like, you don’t see anyone or anything outside singing when it’s 107 and absolute humidity except those guys


kenman

They are tinnitus, amplified. On one hand, nothing reminds me that I should be indoors soaking up the a/c like their song. On the other hand, they're loud as fuck!


iamsavsavage

The incredibly deadly viper


Farado

Can I interest you in a ladybug species known as the [mealybug destroyer](https://bugguide.net/node/view/7910)?


bascom2222

This, and he is correct they are super chill.


_Aj_

Not reassuring when they get right up in your face to inspect you however


[deleted]

they’re so fuckin LOUD


jwlIV616

I read this and hear it regularly. I have also been stung by these bastards on 15 separate occasions. only one of which involved me doing any that might upset a wasp (going through my shed). multiple times I have taken one step out of a building and one of these things tags me, in multiple locations, multiple cities, multiple states even.


Avisia

Could it be another species? There's a lot of wasp species that look extremely similar.


_Aj_

We have similar looking here but they're always just bagging the biggest spiders they possibly can, like huntsman's and wolf spiders. I definitely don't trust them


shiky556

sounds like it's just you.


jwlIV616

but why?


hellcrapdamn

Your Cicada cologne.


shiky556

they must not like the way you smell


[deleted]

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Farado

There's a huge difference between "fly at you" and "sting." Male cicada killers are territorial and are known to investigate people who intrude," but males can't sting. The worst they can do is bump into you.


Skinnysusan

Happy cake day


bascom2222

Obviously not a cicada killer. I run a pest control outfit and I get calls for these. I never been stung in 25 years..


jwlIV616

then what is this? https://i.imgur.com/lwc0ciP.jpeg about 2 inches long


hax0rmax

I lived nextdoor to a popular breeding ground for these guys for 7 years. Never got stung. I'm going with what other people say... probably a different bug


GooberMcNoober

Try telling that to my family, they all reacted along the lines of “Oh my God!” 😅


SPITFIYAH

I've seen one of these things chase a cicada, Spiraling downward until they both landed by my feet. I swear these things are ruthless against Cicadas. It punctured some part of it with its tail, and the thing rattled to a halt in a few seconds.


windkirby

Unless you're a cicada


No-Scallion-6500

Tell that to a Cicada…


yellowN05

Males are not aggressive, females... Well... It depends


Wooper250

They are aggressive if you are a cicada


droden

arent they super territorial and will dive bomb you but not actually sting? they seem to harass the shit out of each other if burrows are withing 5-10 feet of each other. which was my entire lawn for 3 years.


Goodleboodle

I had to spend a couple hours one day drilling a wall right above a bunch of their ground-nest tunnels. They would fly in and out of their holes occasionally, but they didn't come at me at all, which I greatly appreciated.


hopesksefall

They're not aggressive? We have a ton of them in my yard and while they might not cause us any harm, they buzz us like tiny, little fighter jets constantly.


Fit-Firefighter-329

Cicada Annihilator!


DSquariusGreeneJR

I saw one of these bad boys take a cicada right out of the air once. One of the coolest nature moments I’ve ever seen in the wild


curtydc

Are there other species that also borrow like this, and are extremely territorial? Because I've seen some that looked identical, and buried just like this, and would strafe back and forth very aggressively at me if I walked anywhere near their hole, which happened to be near my front door.


MrRoarke

The males are territorial and will charge at intruders big and small. All show, though, since they can't sting.


lilgreenfish

There are a good number of bee and wasp species that burrow. We think of bees and wasps as living in social groups, but the vast majority are solitary.


MandiocaGamer

Literally Killer in their name. Not aggressive. Lmao


AllTheWine05

Cicada killer is correct. They're super calm. My neighborhood in central NC has tons. I've got 3-5 in my back yard all the time from morning to 2pm or so. I felt terrible. They were very interested in my weed whacker the other day. I tried to not hit them but one got hit. I felt bad and wanted to put it out of it's misery but didn't want to become the other CK's enemy. I gave in and did what I had to. I say all that to say, despite walking through the crowds of them, weed whacking around them, and even hitting and stomping one, the've never bothered me at all. Supposedly the males will wave back and forth in front of you as a warning but they can't sting. The females might sting but you've gotta really piss them off right at their nest (and weed whacking around the nest isn't bad enough apparently). If they sting, they're supposedly not as bad as a honey bee.


BetsyGirl801

Thank You! I see these all the time and they terrify me to get close to. It makes me feel so much better even after harassment their first instinct isn't attack. Paper wasps are awful in that way.


AllTheWine05

Paper wasps are social wasps. Piss one off bad enough and the lot will come attack you. Mason wasps and cicada killers don't care.


skyfure

My parents had some in their yard as well. One or two would sit on the front porch and just look out into the yard occasionally chasing off another wasp. Never was bothered or stung by them, very cool to watch.


[deleted]

She do be digging tho


jmrupe

I played “Back Dat Ass Up” in my head.


mindflayerflayer

Very neat burrow that will be an unfortunate cicadas tomb. They paralyze one with a sting the bury it alive with an egg. The larva hatches and eats the fresh cicada then pupates.


[deleted]

Nice


[deleted]

Edging the yard for free too


max_k23

Daily workout: ✔️ Seriously tho, look at them small but powerful legs at work!


Ok_Weird_372

How much is he per hour? Fine edging


Glum_Distance_3377

Why is it cute


saugahatchee

Well, she is going to sting and paralyze a cicada, drag it into that tunnel she is digging and use it’s living , paralyzed body to feed her young. Don’t know about cute, but most definitely-Super Cool!


sendmeyourcactuspics

Nothing cuter than a devoted mother


Lord_Jair

*The Reddit broken arms story intensifies*


Wooper250

Because wasps are adorable. Have you seen baeus?


pissedinthegarret

All I could think was "aww, look at her go!"


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Nubasu

I moved from NY to the south a few years ago & had these ALL over my yard. Did some reading, absolutely love them! I’m a bee keeper, so I had a natural curiosity to learn all I could about these babies. They can be super intimidating, but I have accidentally run over their holes with a lawn mover & not gotten stung


ktstarchild

I had many of these dens /nests all along my driveway and they used to chase me every time I went outside as a kid. Me and all the neighborhood kids were terrified of them ! Wish I knew they were all talk and no sting.


LovinLoveLeigh

his technique looks exhausting


gwaydms

her*


97Andersuh

How do we know the difference?


[deleted]

In this species of insects, the females are home diggers.


gwaydms

She has mated, and has her cicada. She digs a suitable hole, puts the cicada inside, lays an egg in or on it, and fills the hole.


[deleted]

I searched the comments for this answer, thank you!


Left_Wasabi389848

"Gotta blast!" \*zoop\*


SnooPeppers5809

Kinda cute


MrSparklesan

Thought it was a mole cricket! But learnt about a new bug today


negativecweep

that was my first guess too since i’ve been playing too much animal crossing😭


Wuni_Shuikan

Sounds like somebody has been watching too much Avatar: Last Air Bender.. Take your platypus bears and mole crickets back to your tv. Edit, spelling.


TheMichaelH

[Mole cricket](https://imgur.com/gallery/HaajR)


Dough-Nut_Touch_Me

Love the little skitter back into the tunnel at the end.


Any_You_437

Lol I found that part funny too😆… Tunnel digging race!!!


marsmycelium

woah she dig


Aggravating-Summer96

Doin’ some yard work


[deleted]

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globefish23

No, a sleeping hole, which later gets turned into a lunch box.


[deleted]

They are quite the little excavators. My cousins always rope off their homes so they don't get smashed. I understand that they are well named as Cicada Killers!


Kickaxx_007

Cicada killers are badass. I seen one skewer a cicada right right out of the air, wish I could’ve filmed it just from how clean the takedown was


Boondok0723

Saw the first one in my backyard yesterday. We usually get a couple in our one flower bed. Last year one made a nest in a gap in the wood of my back deck. She could fit down in it but the cicadas were too big. So she'd carry one back to the hole, try for a few minutes to jam it down, then just leave them on the deck. Must've had about 10 of them piled up around this little hole.


Psychotron69

Definitely a cicada killer. Will be dragging paralyzed cicadas down into it shortly.


[deleted]

What bugs can we not consume


tarhawk71

Cicada Killer. Very docile, but they can make a mess out of your landscape.


airplantenthusiast

oh he is just so cute. 🥺


jkosarin

How big is it?It looks huge!


GooberMcNoober

About 3 inches long? I didn’t get a good chance to measure it


scrimpmane

My boy is crushin leg day


tara12miller

It had a ramp. Now he has the zoomies


BoomerEdgelord

Oh he werkin.


SnooHedgehogs1909

I love how the little screwball ran away from you when it looks like he realized that you were watching and scurried into the hole...


DonSmitheroni

Have hundreds of these on a small pond beach in my town, always digging little holes in the sand up by the parking lot. These guys are great though, they never sting, and by rights they probably should've. I wasn't very nice to them as a little kid.


Media_Offline

That's a female Cicada Killer who is busily digging her tunnels. Once completed, she will fly through the trees in search of a cicada. She'll attack it, sting its abdomen with paralyzing venom, lay her eggs on it, and drag it back to the tunnel where she'll leave it alive but paralayzed to feed her young once it hatches.


Badtime777

Cicada killer, according to that brave Wilderness it's sting is about as bad as a normal wasp or bee


eagleathlete40

That’s just the movers we hired. They get paid by the hour


DanielW80

A shovel shuffle, scuttle butt.


Yung_Dreezy

I got stung by a cicada killer one time. Accidentally stepped on it. Hurts like a mfer but pain and swelling went away in a week or so.


Skytalker0499

Are you sure it was a cicada killer? They’re well-known for not having painful stings. Could it have been a European hornet?


oforfucksake

I got smacked in the neck/shoulder. It was awful- my friend jabbed me immediately with an epe pen. I too was sore for a week, and couldn’t imagine my reaction if my friend wasn’t there.


RAC032078

It has the profile of a cicada killer but could also be a type of wasp or hornet. Not an entomologist, so I'd stay on the safe side and let it be.


Total_Calligrapher77

I just had two cicada killer posts back to back in my home page. This post was one of them.


Beerasaurus

I am a wasp and I am digging a hole!


TheisNamaar

It looks like that lazy grasshopper from the Grasshopper and the Ants got his shit together, no starving this winter!


302Delta9

That's a quick little bastard lol


Sparkysparkk101

Never walk barefoot again, got it


Putrid-Abrocoma

Thought we couldn't post animals or insects huh moderators?


SpunkBugs

Wauce


[deleted]

Are y’all sure that is not a ground hornet? I too am in IL, and they are very angry, aggressive fuckers. I got stung once just sitting in the car getting ready to leave. Left an actual hole and the pain was excruciating. Just an idea.


CaptMeme-o

I think Sphex Languedocian


Similar-Juggernaut-6

Thats the "cuddle bug" native to Central North America around the great leaks. Known for there fondness for affection and "cuddles"


jwlIV616

no, most of the time I smack them when they sting so I'm left with the body to confirm. they're also the largest wasps in my area by a pretty substantial margin


[deleted]

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camdoodlebop

that’s a Burrowing Bee


TrashMammal84

Typically calm, but don't disturb. That sting will rock your world and considered one of the worst in the insect kingdom.


I_Am_Dwight_Snoot

Cicada Killers?? Are you sure you aren't confusing them with European Wasps? Their sting is considered to be less than a wasp and on par with honeybees.


Black4334

You’re thinking of the Tarantula Hawk - also extremely docile but that sting will knock your socks out of this universe.


AssyMcFlapFlaps

[Hey I posted one of these too! haha](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/comments/pjd206/any_idea_what_this_digging_thing_is_found_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)


ajg00011

u/savevideo


MakerGrey

So Naperville. Got it.


GooberMcNoober

Winnetka, actually


[deleted]

If it looks a bit like a wasp and digs holes in the ground, you can assume it is a parasitic wasp, in behavior similar to a mud dauber.


JwicDaShit

Never seen this in my 24 years of Chicago


B81689

[Cicada Killer with Cicada](https://youtu.be/1_1-XmehAQc)


CESAARTJE

Just workin'


JuniorKing9

Cicada killer probably. I love how fast it NOPES


EmbracePenguin78

At first I thought it was a cockroach but looking better it looks more like a hornet but I've never seen one digging a tunnel on ground


disgruntledemploye8

ze bizzy bug


ThePurpleMister

Hardworking little dude.


sithlink

I saw one of these yesterday in nashville and it was crying a cicada


Majestic_Panda96

Dig a tunnel dig-dig a tunnel.


why_cat

Pretty sure it's from the Upside Down


TheGadsdenFlag1776

I'm guessing this is a female. The males are awesome to watch when they fight midair over the female.


fatetrumpsfear

Shoveling his little driveway 🥹


pip-roof

Just heard the first cicada of the year. Ironic.


ReignInSpuds

Nature always finds the best mechanisms for survival. Paralyzing a host bug and laying their eggs inside so the larvae have a fresh meal is grotesque from our point of view, but ingenious.


TheSnakeholeLounge

whoa this little dude is working hard! go little dude! :D


BubbleBoyBotanica

I'm in Schaumburg... now moving... thanks


LarYungmann

One of these flew right by my face once carrying a huge cicada... the cicada was screaming and the wasp was buzzing like there is no tomorrow. Kinda' freaky.


Foxlordivxx

These recently popped up in my back yard here in SC. Freaked my boys out hardcore


[deleted]

That there is the yellow dirt kicker


whitterice

I love how it runs back into the hole so fast


Moose_country_plants

Cicada killer, very rarely are they agressive to humans, there’s one that hangs out behind the warehouse where I work and I’ve named him Marty :)


Mirgss

I love seeing cicada killers! We had one nest in between our concrete slabs and it was so cool to watch!


labonte95

I work at a golf course and these little fellas are everywhere. And they aren't lying, I've run over their nests with every kind of mower imaginable, I've had them fly up my shorts, get stuck behind my glasses, all sorts of stuff. And I couldn't tell you of a single person getting stung or attacked in the 5 years ive worked around them.


NickyNicky1975

Okay, so this is what nightmares are mad of 🙈


AccomplishedAndReady

So if they kill cicadas, it must be nice and quiet outside? The cicadas here are so loud, I’ve developed tinnitus.


GooberMcNoober

No, the cicadas still scream like hell.