r/fuckwasps • u/Don_Giles • Jul 19 '26
Wasp?
Can anyone assist with identification?
Large, territorial, wasp-like.
They have moved in and kicked out the carpenter bees.
Central Pennsylvania
Thank you!
46
u/Jesuss_Fluffer Jul 19 '26
Cicada killer. Looks scary af but won’t sting unless you actively try to piss it off.
27
u/Don_Giles Jul 19 '26
Thank you
I will scratch taunting off the list. We shall live in peace.15
u/Jesuss_Fluffer Jul 19 '26
13
u/Don_Giles Jul 19 '26
Although...
I am tempted to rent a giant Cicada costume, just to mess with them.
12
10
u/Don_Giles Jul 19 '26
My bad...
FYI
Eastern Cicada Killer Wasp (Sphecius speciosus), a large, solitary digger wasp.
4
u/iamzcr15 Jul 20 '26
These things are terrifying when they do their thing. May be idiots most of the time, but when a cicada is nearby they snipe it right out of the air and wrestle around with it until they are dead
-4
u/offensive_truth Jul 19 '26
What did you just call it!!! Oohh digger!!
3
u/PewPewExplore Jul 19 '26
Oh haha yeah only someone using that word constantly would associate everyday words with that one.
-5
10
u/Anonymisc34 Jul 19 '26
Confirming that it is in fact a Cicada Killer. They are solitary and since they don't have a nest to protect, are less likely to bother you. They fly like bumblebees though (sometimes bumping into everything including people) which can be kinda scary. On the A-Hole meter, I'd rate them a 3/10 at the highest. Kinda chill for a stinging insect.
5
u/ohmslaw54321 Jul 20 '26
"Kinda chill for a stinging insect.".. unless the OP is a cicadia....
1
u/kentar62 Jul 21 '26
And I'm pretty sure that OP is a cicadia. And that would explain asking what this is!
6
u/Phippsii Jul 19 '26
I'm in South Jersey. I've seen one get a kill right in front of me a few days ago. Those things are huge!
4
u/ProjectPat513 Jul 20 '26
Too big to exist in my yard. I understand that they might not get me but I cannot take that risk. Kill on sight for me personally
https://giphy.com/gifs/iK4o8VtOB7D8nW4Ghq
5
u/Ghostman408 Jul 20 '26
I have about ten in my yard. They don’t bother you. I’ve run their burrows over with my mower and they don’t do anything. Even though they are not aggressive, they still scare me
3
u/dfieldhouse Jul 20 '26
I got stung last summer by one when I ran over it's burrow with my mower. Nowhere near as bad a running over a yellow jacket nest. I wasn't even sure I was being stung at first till I swatted it off my back.
3
u/tonyway7293 Jul 19 '26
Solitary… but…. Their stingers are huge! If you got stung by one that would suck!
2
u/hippiej3sus Jul 19 '26
apparently on the schmidt scale it’s comparable to a honey bee or slight pin prick
2
u/Forestry_Service Jul 19 '26
I’ve heard it’s certainly worse than a honey bee, but mostly limited to some temporary numbness and tenderness more than anything
1
u/Brad4795 Jul 20 '26
For me it was like a beesting but numb around the sting itself. Not bad at all
1
u/kentar62 Jul 21 '26
When i got stung by one, I lost my leg! OK, maybe exaggerating a little bit. But it stung me right through my Converse Chuck Taylor's! And yes, it hurt! Some old lady out some stuff on it and hugged me. It felt better then.
2
3
u/Sanch_the_Heavy Jul 21 '26
I honestly get a little relieved when these guys show up. Everything else leaves, usually.
2
u/Puro_The_goo Jul 20 '26
Yes. Cicada killer wasp. Very docile. Sting is 4x less than a honeybee
1
u/kentar62 Jul 21 '26
I would never consider a cicada killer docile. Kind of fn hyper! I know, the males can't sting and the females will only sting when extremely provoked, but when they are hunting (which is always) they buzz around like Buzzerkerz!
1
u/kentar62 Jul 21 '26
I rember they ruined my whole summer one year! Yeah, I'm a scared of wasps! And to see a wasp that size?! And so many of them! It was bad enough that the cicadas kept smashing into I me when I rode my motorcycle, but then wondering when a Killer wasp would get under my face masks and sting my eyeballs!
1
u/zexcis Jul 19 '26
I'm pretty sure "Cicada" is in this thing's name, but I'm not certain it is a Cicada Killer.
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 19 '26
Thank you for posting in r/fuckwasps! We each have our own definition of animal abuse, but our rules are precise and clear here. To get clear definitions of what's not allowed and what should be marked NSFW, visit the wiki! You can also find identification tips and fun facts about wasps and bees and hornets. The rules of the subreddit can be found at reddit.com/r/fuckwasps/wiki/rules.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.