Check this guy out . . .

[stubby8th]

Hey y'all, I'm more of a T guy - maybe you might be able to identify this big wasp I found in my yard.
It's kind'a funny how I cought it; I had noticed a burrow with a good-sized mound of newly excavated earth in the yard the other morning and I was curious to know what had made it. I took some of the earth and drizzled it over the opening until it was covered up, and waited. A few minutes later this enormous wasp appeared and started moving the dirt away. I just happened to have a ziplock container right there and traped it before it knew what was going on. It curled up and died minutes later. What was this beast?

 

[kraken]

Cicada killer? We have monster ones here that do that.they kill and carry cicadas back to their burrows for their young.They pack a HELL of a sting!!
YEP!! Thats what it is! It is Sphecius speciosus(?) and a pic can be seen here:
http://home.earthlink.net/~citybirder/images/Cicada Killer.jpg

 

[Mr_Baker4420]

you are correct kraken

 

[kraken]

I know how hard they can sting,I had one in my front yard when I was about 12,and it would ignore me mostly.One day I was hitting rocks with a plasctic baseball bat,and it was angry and swarmed me.I hit it with all my might and knocked it back about 40 feet through the air,it caught itself mid air did a superfast U-turn and nailed me on my chest before i knew what happened.felt like I got shot between the sting and the impact of this 2" "hornet" hitting me full force. I respect them greatly now and give them room.They are everywhere at my dads house still!

 

[bug_dude_1]

the funny thing about them is that even the males can sting. granted, they don't have any venom, but they can poke you! :razz:

 

[AR-Tarantula]

Males can't sting. A stinger is a modified ovipositor in wasps, ants, and bees. Only females have ovipositors so only females can sting.

 

[Czalz]

Hey y'all, I'm more of a T guy - maybe you might be able to identify this big wasp I found in my yard.

That is a Waspus giganticus......I'm sure of it. No need for thanks, just glad I could help.

 

[rag]

Every summer i have atleast 20 or 30 little burrows and countless of them flying around. And every summer i get the job of going outside and smacking them with a tennis racket for hours on end. I hate these things with a passion.

 

[CopperInMyVeins]

These guys have been some of my favorites since I was little, we have loads of cicadas here, so loads of them too, I have some really big ones preserved in alcohol, they dig their burrows all over the beach too. It's something to see one actuall flying around carrying a cicada under it, and Kraken, that story was crazy, never had an encounter like that, I always left them alone though, they certainly command respect.