A Different Kind of Meadow Hawk

Every now and then, I see something that perplexes me as I take my daily rambles with Baloo. Sometimes, I never get answers to my perplexities, but sometimes I do. A week or so ago, I started noticing rows of burrows that had been dug into the center hump of a two-track where we walk. These holes in the side of this shallow ridge had no tracks coming to or from them, they were clearly fresh, as the sand that had been displaced was still damp from the excavation efforts. The holes were perfectly round and not very large in diameter - maybe half an inch or thereabouts. 

I wondered about this for a number of days, as we passed many newly created homes. I also  began noticing enormous wasps flying around in the field beside this two-track. Then, I witnessed one of these big, scary looking creatures land and disappear into a freshly dug hole. 

The next day, I saw one zip by and dive straight into one of the burrows with a cicada in tow. Then, another one, also laden with a cicada, flew in and I was able to capture a picture as it landed on the sand (the wings are still blurred in flight in this photo). I was stunned that it could fly with such a large insect weighing it down. 

It apparently came in at a distance from its home, since it kept dragging the cicada along toward me - it acted like it wanted to crawl under my boot and I kept backing up and out of its way as I took more pictures. 

I did a little research on these creatures and discovered that they are called cicada hawks or cicada killer wasps. The female captures cicadas and carries them back to her burrow where she leaves several of them, along with a single egg. Cicada hawks build these burrows for their young one at a time, sealing them up when enough provisions have been stored for the egg inside. Once hatched, the larva will feed on the cicadas and then spin a cocoon of silk and sand in which it will overwinter, finally emerging as an adult the following spring.  

These wasps are about two inches long, so they're a bit alarming to see flying around, but they really have no interest in humans and will only sting people if they're harassed. They are good guys, acting as a natural check on cicada populations, thereby protecting the deciduous trees on which the cicadas feed so voraciously.  

So, there's the final chapter in my cicada story for the year. I had fun learning something about both the cicadas and wasps. I hope you did, too.