By Kathy Feagan
Cicada Killer Wasps (Sphecius speciosus) look very frightening and many people think they are seeing a giant European or Asian hornet (both introduced, invasive species). Luckily, these invasive species are now only found in Washington state. The first time I saw a Cicada Killer, I had moved to Weatherford and adopted a beautiful puppy. One of the neighbors told me they were viscous hornets who would kill my pup so I batted them with my garden kneeler every time they came close. When I went through Master Gardening training and learned how helpful and benign these creatures actually are, I felt very guilty.
Cicada Killers are the largest Texas wasp species at about 1-1/2 to 2”” long with three broken bands of yellow across its black abdomen and a rust colored head. Male Cicada Killers are slightly smaller than the females. Cicada Killers dig underground burrows, for egg laying, consisting of many cells and branches. The female wasp stings and paralyzes Cicadas, then drags them into the burrow to feed her larvae. The female buries at least one paralyzed cicada with each egg she lays. Most of the nests are constructed in sunny gardens, flower beds and lawns. They often choose previous nesting locations year after year. Despite their scary appearance, they are not at all aggressive to humans, only focused on cicada hunting. They adults feed on flower nectar. Females live in aggregations, creating several nests within their hunting areas. They are very strong with long, bright colored legs that are made for digging. Male cicada killers are somewhat territorial and have no stinger. Males often have mid-air fights with other males over their mating areas. The will buzz around you but won’t harm you. Females have a stinger for paralyzing prey and would only sting a human if you try to attack or catch them with your bare hands and the wasp becomes threatened. These wasps are considered very beneficial as they help control the overpopulation of Cicadas.
Each generation lives for one year After the female lays the eggs they hatch within a few days into larvae that feeds on the cicadas. Once they have eaten all the spiders, the larvae then spins a cocoon in which the adult overwinters until the next summer when the new generation emerges. After emerging in early summer, the female mates and starts digging burrows for her eggs, and hunts constantly. They are very active in mid-summer.
Mud Dauber Wasps (Sphecidae and Crabronidae families)are solitary and grow to ¾” to 1” long. The Sphecidae daubers have long, needle like waists while Crabronidae have long black and yellow strip abdomens with oval shaped, flat heads. The female amasses mud to make her nest of tubes. She then fills the nest with paralyzed spiders (they love brown recluse and black widows). Up to 25 spiders are laid into each tube and then, the female closes off the tube with mud. After her eggs hatch, the larvae feast upon the spiders. You will often see their mud nest on high, shady areas like outside wall corners, doorways and ceilings. If you spot one, do not remove it until you see it covered with holes, from which the mature babies use to leave the nest. The Daubers do not defend their nests and very rarely stings people. These wasps live their life in four stages of egg, larvae, pupa and adult. The female lays a single egg within in each mud cell. Once the egg hatches into the larvae stage (legless, maggot-like larvae) they feed on the paralyzed spiders the female supplied. They then go through several instars and eat all of the spiders. The larvae then spins a cocoon and enters pupa stage, the wasp usually overwinters and emerges in the spring. Mud Daubers eat m-flower nectar and tree sap. They are considered to be very beneficial as they prey on many species of spiders.
The black and yellow mud dauber (Sphecidae caementarium) makes a globular nest of one to several cells, filled with paralyzed spiders. Adults are often seen in wet areas, getting mud for nest building. The blue mud dauber (Chalybion califrnicum) takes over the nests of the black and yellow daubers and fills it with mostly black widow spiders. The organ pipe mud dauber become like musical instruments as they work the mud for nest building. They actually produce a musical noise (made by the contracting of the wasp’s flight muscles – vibrating their head and mandibles to emit a high pitched sound. The male organ pipe wasps stay around the female’s nest to guard the larvae and even help with building the nest. Cuckoo wasps try to lay their own eggs in the nests so the male’s presence helps protect the nest.
The Big Country Master Gardener Association presents free education programs every month. There is a program at 6:00 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday of the month at the Abilene Public Library South Branch in the Mall of Abilene, and the same program is presented again at 10:00 a.m. on the 2nd Friday of the month at the Abilene Public Library main branch in downtown Abilene. We also have a Master Gardener Saturday Seminar from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on the last Saturday of the month from February through August in the Taylor County Extension Office Conference Room. The theme for the monthly BCMGA Library and Saturday Seminar presentations in 2025 is “The Year of the Garden.”
Save the date for our Fall Plant Sale: Online portion starts on Wednesday, October 8th at 8 am and runs until Friday, October 10th at noon. All online orders are to be picked up between 2 pm and 6 pm inside the Modern Living Mall on the Taylor County Expo Fairgrounds. Then all remaining plants are sold at our In person plant Sale on Saturday, October 11th from 8 am until noon inside the Modern Living Mall. Visit our website at bcmgtx.org for the online sale link Wednesday, October 8th.
We are here to help you. If you have any questions, call the Taylor County Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or email us at bcmgardeners@yahoo.com. We hope you will also visit our Facebook page, our website at bcmgtx.org, and the BCMGA YouTube channel for all Big Country Master Gardener information, events, and training.
Until next week, happy gardening!