Cicada killer wasps (

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Sphecius'') are large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

s. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them, after stinging and paralyzing them. Twenty-one

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

worldwide are recognized. The highest diversity occurs in the region between

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. In North America, the term "cicada killer wasp" usually refers to the most well-known species, the

eastern cicada killer ''Sphecius speciosus'', often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid that preys on cicadas, though in No ...

(''S. speciosus''). A few other related genera also are sometimes referred to as "cicada killers", e.g. ''

Liogorytes The genus ''Liogorytes'' comprises a group of large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory South American wasps which hunt cicadas as prey. It is related to the more common genus of cicada killers, ''Sphecius''. References

Crabronidae ...

'' in South America and ''

Exeirus The Australian cicada killer wasp, ''Exeirus lateritius'', the sole member of the genus ''Exeirus'', is a large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory wasp. It is related to the more common genus of cicada killers, '' Sphecius''. In Australia, ' ...

'' in Australia. The use of cicadas as prey is in keeping with the typical behavior of the tribe Gorytini, which tend to specialize on various members of the Cicadomorpha as prey items.

Species

This list of species is probably complete as of March 31, 2009. It has been adapted from th
Catalog of ''Sphecius'' species
(California Academy of Sciences). Notable

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

are also given. More recently, it has been suspected that the

western cicada killer ''Sphecius grandis'', also called the western cicada killer, is a species of cicada killer wasp (''Sphecius''). The western species shares the same nesting biology as its fellow species, the eastern cicada killer ('' S. speciosus''). ''S. ...

('' S. grandis'') represents more than one species. Also, some evidence suggests that either the

('' S. speciosus'') has a subspecies or closely related species that mimics the Pacific cicada killer ('' S. convallis''). Alternatively, when they were already well distinct species, significant

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

ization has occurred between them, though not enough to fully overcome their

reproductive isolation The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring ...

. * '' Sphecius antennatus'' (Klug, 1845) (Southern and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Central Asia) * '' Sphecius citrinus'' Arnold, 1929 (South Africa) * '' Sphecius claripennis'' Morice, 1911 (North Africa) * '' Sphecius conicus'' (Germar, 1817) (Balkans, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Greece) ** ''Sphecius conicus creticus'' de Beaumont, 1965 (Crete) ** ''Sphecius conicus syriacus'' (Klug, 1845) (Syria to China) * '' Sphecius convallis'' Patton, 1879 – Pacific cicada killer (Mexico: Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora; USA: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington) * '' Sphecius grandidieri'' (de Saussure, 1887) (Madagascar) * '' Sphecius grandis'' (Say, 1823) – western cicada killer (Costa Rica; Mexico: Baja California, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Yucatán; Nicaragua; USA: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington) * '' Sphecius hemixanthopterus'' Morice, 1911 (Algeria) * ''

Sphecius hogardii ''Sphecius hogardii'', the Caribbean cicada killer, is a species of sand wasp in the family Crabronidae. It is found in the Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of th ...

'' (Latreille, 1806) – Caribbean cicada killer (Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, USA: southern Florida) ** ''Sphecius hogardii bahamas'' Krombein, 1953 (Bahama Islands: Bimini) * '' Sphecius intermedius'' Handlirsch, 1895 (Algeria) * '' Sphecius lutescens'' (Radoszkowski, 1877) (Central Asia) * '' Sphecius malayanus'' Handlirsch, 1895 (Indonesia: Timor, Sumbava) * '' Sphecius milleri'' R.Turner, 1915 (Zambia) ** ''Sphecius milleri aurantiacus'' Arnold, 1940 (Ethiopia) * '' Sphecius nigricornis'' (Dufour, 1838) (Southern and Eastern Europe, North Africa) * '' Sphecius pectoralis'' (F.Smith, 1856) (Australia) * '' Sphecius persa'' Gussakovskij, 1933 (Iran, Afghanistan) * '' Sphecius quartinae'' (Gribodo, 1884) (Guinea, Somalia) * '' Sphecius schulthessi'' Roth, 1951 (North Africa) * ''

Sphecius speciosus ''Sphecius speciosus'', often simply referred to as the cicada killer or the cicada hawk, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Crabronidae. The name may be applied to any species of crabronid that preys on cicadas, though in N ...

'' (Drury, 1773) – Eastern cicada killer (Central and North America: Honduras to Ontario, Canada) * '' Sphecius spectabilis'' (Taschenberg, 1875) – South American cicada killer (Brazil, Argentina) * '' Sphecius uljanini'' (Radoszkowski, 1877) (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran)

References

External links

cicada killers, ''Sphecius'' spp.
on the UF /

IFAS IFAS may refer: * Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences * Integrated Fixed-Film Activated Sludge, a sewage treatment process * International French adjectival system In rock climbing, mountaineering, and other climbing disciplines, clim ...

Featured Creatures Web site {{Taxonbar, from=Q2710050 Crabronidae Biological pest control wasps Taxa named by Anders Gustaf Dahlbom