Cicada (Locust) Killers!

I ordered a load of topsoil to be delivered to our house last week so that I could raise the level of the garden. As odd as it seems after posting about the drought just yesterday, sometimes the weather can be feast or famine - either too much rain or not enough.  The water-saturated soil from extensive rainfall amounts this spring really negatively affected the yield of our potato and tomato crops.  By carting this soil to the garden and putting a 3 or four inch layer of topsoil over existing rows raises the level of the soil but also will still allow the plants' roots to reach into the rich soil that has been improved by composting and adding organic matter.

The Dirt Pile

After the dirt pile had been sitting for a day, we noticed some strange things going on.  First there were many holes or burrows in the pile, being dug by some mystery creature.  The holes were about the diameter of a dime and fresh dirt from within the tunnels was being dropped right outside the entrance.

Tunnel with fresh dirt being dropped out

As we got closer to inspect the digging and try to determine what was doing it, we were immediately met with something swiftly buzzing around our heads.  At first I thought it was hummingbirds, but quickly saw that it was some huge hornet-looking creatures.  When I tell you they were two inches long, I'm not exaggerating a bit!  The would fly into the tunnel and disappear for a while and then emerge and fly off again.

Heading to the tunnel

I looked them up on the Internet HERE and found that they are not hornets, but a very large wasp called a Cicada Killer or Cicada Hawk.  Interestingly, the ferocious looking wasps drink nectar from flowers for their sustenance and will only sting people if threatened or handled roughly.  Once their burrow is dug to a depth of 10 to 20 inches deep, the female will go out in search of cicadas.  They will sting the cicada, paralyzing it and carry it back to their burrow.  This is no easy task since the cicada can weigh twice the amount of the wasp.

As I watched, a cicada killer flew with a cicada in her grip and clumsily flew into the side of the dirt pile, struggling mightily with her prey.  After much work, she lifted the cicada into the burrow and disappeared into the tunnel with the paralyzed/dead cicada.

Carrying her prey into the burrow

Once they get it into the burrow, you would think that they would eat it, but they don't.  They lay their eggs on it and then closes off the nest cell with dirt.  A single burrow has many nest cells.  The egg will hatch in a couple of days and the larvae feasts on the bodies of the cicada.  Thanks Mom! The larvae mature in about two weeks and then they will overwinter in the burrow and pupate in the spring, continuing the cycle.

That's a mean looking creature!

There is plenty of activity around the dirt pile with the cicada killers digging their tunnels.  I almost felt sorry for them that all the work they were doing was for naught.  The dirt pile was going to be completely gone within a week, weather permitting.

Russ, Benjamin and I went to work moving the dirt, dodging the flying wasps as they flew in and out of their tunnels.  We shoveled dirt off of the pile, moving it to tubs and carting it off to the garden.  After a few loads, the whole side of the pile collapsed, like a giant avalanche, collapsing the cicada killers' burrows.  It did unearth the contents of one of their burrows, though.  There were three dead cicadas in one of the burrows, put there by the cicada killer and undoubtedly has eggs laid on it somewhere.

Victims of the Cicada Killer

The image below was not captured by me, but you can see the differences in sizes between the male on the left and the female on the right.  Keep in mind these things are two inches long!  The females sting with their stinger.  Although the males don't have a stinger, they can jab with the spine.

Image Credit

They help keep the cicada population in check and I guess that is a good thing. Sometimes the cicadas incessant buzzing in the trees can get pretty noisy.  Without the dirt pile, the cicada killers will have to resort to Plan B, digging their burrows in the hard ground.  It won't be as easy as digging in a loose dirt pile, but they'll get the job done, I'm sure.  Cicada Killers - an interesting predator for sure.