We had been hoping to see one of these little B-52 Bombers at DeKorte, and finally saw one on Thursday. It was buzzing around the side of the Environment Center by the drinking fountain, then flying into a gap in the wall.
The Cicada Killer Wasps are aptly named — not only do they kill Cicadas, but a female will lay an egg on a paralyzed Cicada. When the egg hatches, the grub lives off the dead Cicada. Yum.
More on Cicada Killers here.
Sorry for not getting a better photo above (it doesn't give you any idea of how big this thing is), but this Cicada Killer must have just had a Starbucks coffee — it simply would not sit still. We have looked for it since then, with no luck, but we will keep our eyes out.
We realize that a lot of people with grassy lawns are not big fans of these insects, but they are amazing bugs.
Those Cicada Killers are awesome. Last summer, at least 30 kids at the Lyndhurst Day Camp watched one wrestle with a cicada – both insects tumbled over and over, and the big old bee, or whatever it is, would start to climb the picnic table with the cicada wrapped up, then the cicada would break free and get caught again, and the kids would scream and run each time the battling bugs blundered towards them. The Cicada Killer won and headed off toward Breslin Field with its prize. I believe they may go into holes in sandy soil? At least they did on the formerly decrepid field at Jefferson School in Lyndhurst, where they lived along the third base line and scared the heck out of the kids when they flew around buzzing. Good times!
This explains what I saw the other day while walking my dog in Montclair. A cicada fell from a tree in front of me -which was strange- and then I realized there was wasp attached to it, but wait, the wasp was actually killing the cicada. My dog jumped in and killed the cicada and the wasp flew away. It was all very violent but awesome.