Cicada Killer Wasp Nest Removal Long Island New York

Cicada killer wasps are solitary wasps, and their behavior is very different from social wasps such as Yellowjackets, Paper Wasps, Bald-faced Hornets, and European Hornets. Female cicada killer wasps use their stinger to paralyze their prey rather than to defend their nests. Adult wasps and their burrows can be seen in lawns of Long Island homes during the summer months. Female wasps will typically construct their tunnels, which are usually ten to twenty inches deep in well drained, sandy soils in full sun where vegetation is sparse. In digging a tunnel, the female wasp dislodges the ground with her jaws and, using her rear legs, pushes loose dirt behind her as she backs out of the burrow. The wasp's hind legs are equipped with specialized spines that assist her in pushing the soil behind her. The excess dirt pushed out of the tunnel forms a mound with a trench through it at the tunnel entrance. As much as one hundred cubic centimeters of soil may be brought to the surface as tunnels are formed, which can be unsightly and smother the grass. Following the construction of a nest chamber in the burrow, female cicada killer wasps capture cicadas, paralyzing them with a sting. After disabling a cicada, the female cicada killer wasp carries the insect to her burrow. The wasp will lay male eggs on a single cicada, but female eggs are given two or sometimes three cicadas; this is because the female cicada killer wasp is double the size of the male and must, therefore, be supplied with more food. The wasp eggs hatch in one or two days, and the cicadas provide food to the developing larvae. The cicada killer larvae complete their development in approximately two weeks. Overwintering takes place as a mature larva within an earth-coated cocoon. Complete metamorphosis occurs in the nest cell during the spring and lasts twenty-five to thirty days. There is only one generation of cicada killer wasps per year, and no adults overwinter. Cicada killer wasps are frequently attacked by the parasitic velvet ant wasp, also known as the cow-killer wasp. The cow-killer wasp lays an egg in the nest cell of the cicada killer wasp, and when the cicada killer larva pupates, the larva of the cow-killer wasp consumes the pupa. Occasionally skunks may dig up cicada killer tunnels to feed on cicadas and wasp larvae.

Cicada Killer Wasp Removal Nassau County, Long Island

Cicada Killer Wasp Life Cycle - Nassau County, Long Island