All of the cicada-killer species shown here are one to two inches long; the males are smaller than the females.
 Sphecius hogardii, the Caribbean cicada-killer (Florida and the Caribbean nations). Click here to see an all-rufous S. hogardii. |
 Sphecius grandis, the western cicada-killer (Western U.S., Mexico). Click here to see a melanistic S. grandis male. |
 Sphecius convallis, the Pacific cicada-killer (Western U.S., Mexico). Click here to see a S. convallis with a minimum of yellow. |
 Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer (U.S. Midwest and East, Southwestern Ontario, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras). Click here to see a male S. speciosus with brown on its abdomen. |
 Sphecius spectabilis (South America). |
 European hornets are commonly mistaken for cicada-killers. The picture above shows two eastern cicada-killers
(the biggest wasps), a European hornet (top right) and a bald-faced hornet (black and white, behind the lower cicada-killer) for comparison. All are feeding on sap oozing
from a wound they have made in the tree's bark. (Our thanks to Ben in Bucks County, PA, for this picture.) |
The following is an improved taxonomic key for the New World species of cicada-killers (Holliday & Coelho, 2006). 1. Body black, including scutellum and legs (rarely scutellum yellow), gastral tergites I-II only with yellow markings - Body variously colored and marked, scutellum rufous or yellow, legs rufous; North and Central 2. Body rufous, gaster rufous or rufous with posterior half black, gaster without yellow markings; - Gaster with yellow markings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3. Females (10 flagellomeres, tibia of hind leg at junction with tarsus with two greatly enlarged, - Males (11 flagellomeres, tibial spines at junction with tarsus with two spines of normal size, 4. Gastral tergite II with mesal punctation noticeably less dense than that of gastral tergite I (see above left), gastral - Gastral tergite II with mesal punctation approximately as dense as that of tergite I (see above right). . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5. Body black (parts of thorax rufous, occasionally rufous patches only on gastral tergite I) with rufous scutellum, - Body rufous to nearly black with intermediate forms, at least gastral tergites I and II with large rufous patches, 6. Flagellomeres II-IV not curved ventrally at tyloids, tyloids thus are straight or very nearly so (see above, - Flagellomeres II-IV noticeably curved ventrally at tyloids, tyloids thus are curved (see above, lower picture); 7. Body black (parts of thorax rufous, occasionally rufous patches only on gastral tergite I) with rufous scutellum, - Body rufous (excepting a few populations with dark thoraces in southeastern Arizona, New Mexico and Chihuahua), NOTES:
1. S. spectabilis
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(rarely only I-III or no yellow markings, except on frons and clypeus);
South America (see note 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . spectabilis (Taschenberg), the spectacled cicada-killer
America
or Caribbean islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Caribbean islands, southern Florida (see note 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hogardii (Latreille), the Caribbean cicada-killer
flat spines; six visible gastral segments). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
seven visible gastral segments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
tergites I-III or I-IV only with yellow markings (rarely only I-II), rufous (excepting a few populations with dark
thoraces in southeastern Arizona, New Mexico and in Chihuahua);
Mexico, western half of U.S. (see note 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convallis (Patton), the Pacific cicada-killer
gastral tergites I-III only with yellow markings (rarely only I-IV and very rarely only I-II);
Canada (southern Ontario), Guatemala, Honduras, northeastern Mexico,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . speciosus (Drury), the eastern cicada-killer
gastral tergites I-V only or I-VI with yellow markings (rarely only I-IV and very rarely only I-III);
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, western half of U.S. (see note 5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . grandis (Say), the western cicada-killer
upper picture);
flagellomeres II-IV circular in cross-section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
flagellomeres II-IV
produced into a ridge beneath tyloids and not circular in cross-section, gastral tergites I-V
or I-VI only with yellow
markings (very rarely only I-IV or I-VII), body varying from rufous to
nearly black; Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, western half of U.S. (see note 5)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . grandis (Say), the western cicada-killer
gastral tergites I-III only with yellow markings (rarely only I-IV and very rarely only I-II);
Canada (southern Ontario), Guatemala, Honduras, northeastern
Mexico, eastern two-thirds of U.S. (see note 4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . speciosus (Drury), the eastern cicada-killer
gastral tergites I-III or I-IV only with yellow markings (rarely only I-II);
Mexico, western half of U.S., (see note 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . convallis (Patton), the Pacific cicada-killer
2. S. hogardii
reported from: Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, United States (southern Florida).Subspecies bahamas (Krombein 1953) has no black markings on gastral tergites.