Anybody recognize this gal?

[Tom Raymond]

I just walked into my house and was buzzed by what seemed to be a humming bird. When she finally landed I got this shot.

Click to Enlarge

87.52 KB

Her wings were an inch long, and she was at least 1 3/4" from snout to stinger.

Very aggressive. Her bad attitude got her squished instead of guided out the door.

[Richard Moore]

Might be a Cicada. I have read that this is THE year in their 17 year cycle. Evidently you guys back east can expect about a bizillion more over the next few weeks.

[Bill Kibbel]

Not a cicada - it's the cicada killer wasp, aka ground digger wasp. Right now they're very active. You'll see holes in the ground about 3/8" for their burrows.

The females might seem aggressive, but don't sting very often. Males can't sting. The females paralyze cicadas, bring them back into the burrow and lay eggs inside the carcass.

[gtblum]

Maybe, Bill, but the ones I've seen are black and have a long tail. I watched one work a quarter inch round tunnel in my yard before.

That insect looks more like one of the gigantic Honey bee (like) critters, I see around here occasionally.

[Tom Raymond]

Not a cicada - it's the cicada killer wasp, aka ground digger wasp. Right now they're very active. You'll see holes in the ground about 3/8" for their burrows.

The females might seem aggressive, but don't sting very often. Males can't sting. The females paralyze cicadas, bring them back into the burrow and lay eggs inside the carcass.

I Googled them. The coloring is a little off, but seems to be pretty variable. The thorax is shaped differently too, longer and more elliptical, but this seems pretty variable as well. Must be several varieties.

Just squashed another one. I can't wait to mow over one of their burrows.

[Scottpat]

Yep, it is a Cicada killer..... It is a sight to see them flying through the air with a Cicada clutched below them.

[John Kogel]

Up in the Frozen North, the flies are smaller so they have to team up and tear the meat into little pieces first. []