Profs. Joe Coelho and Chuck Holliday are trying to determine accurately the distributions of the five species of cicada-killers in the Western Hemisphere. To do this, we need to get lots of cicada-killers from all over this half of the world and this is where you can help. If we can get lots of people to send us specimens, our job will be much easier and we will get many more specimens than we could possibly collect ourselves. Specimens from Canada, Mexico, the Central and South American and Carribean countries would be particularly appreciated. Will you help us? We are also very interested in getting cicadas that have been paralyzed by cicada-killers in order to learn which species of cicadas they use in different areas.

If you catch a cicada-killer, please contact one of us by email. Our email addresses are: Chuck Holliday hollidac@lafayette.edu and Joe Coelho coelhjo@quincy.edu If one of us does not respond within two days, he may be out of town, so please try the other one. If neither of us responds within a few days, then please follow the instructions below for catching and preserving the wasp(s) and/or cicada(s) and we will contact you as soon as possible. We will send you a postage-paid shipping container and instructions for catching, preserving and sending us the wasp(s). When we receive them we will email you an identification (genus and species) and our heartfelt thanks. If you have a digital camera and can take a sharp picture of your wasp and email it to us, we don't need you to send us the specimen. All we will need is the picture, your name, the address (with ZIP code) where the wasp was seen, the date it was seen and your county.

Please check this link to learn whether or not we need a specimen from your county. We have wasps from many areas and we want to avoid unnecessary duplication of your effort and our expense.

Please be certain that the wasp(s) you collect really are cicada-killers! European hornets are often mistaken for cicada-killers. The first five pictures below are the wasps we are interested in; all of them are one to two inches long and males are smaller than females. The last picture shows the differences between cicada-killers and European hornets.

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 specimen of 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.)

Catching cicada-killers. Do not try to catch cicada-killers if you are allergic to wasp or bee stings; please get someone else to catch them. Of course, an insect net is the best way to catch a flying wasp; unfortunately, they are not usually available in the average household. If cicada-killer burrows are present, the easiest way to catch a cicada-killer is to put a mayonnaise jar over the opening of the burrow at night. Check the jar in the morning until 10 am to see if a wasp has emerged into it; the heat in the jar from the sun usually kills the wasp because it hasn't the sense to go back into its burrow and stay cool. It's possible to catch a cicada-killer in the same way if you see it enter a burrow. You can also GENTLY knock cicada-killers out of the air with a badminton or tennis racquet or a Frisbee held in the hand (backhand swipe down toward the ground), and then put them in a jar.

Killing and preserving cicada-killers (cicadas, too). The easiest way to kill cicada-killers is to put them in the freezer overnight; this also makes them dry faster. Thaw the wasp the next day and then spread it out to dry for at least a week in a safe place; the top of the refrigerator is ideal for this because hot air from the evaporator coils will help dry the wasp quickly and it is less likely to rot if the humidity is high. Alcohol (drinking, rubbing or wood) or nail polish remover will also kill cicada-killers; just pour a little into the jar holding the wasp and it will stop moving in a few minutes; leave it in the jar overnight. When you are sure your wasp is dead, spread it out to dry in a safe place. It's important to let the wasp dry for at least one week; if you don't it will rot in transit to us.

Packing cicada-killers for shipment. Place the dried cicada-killer or cicada on a thin layer of tissue in the plastic container provided (it's a fast-food ketchup cup) and then add another layer of tissue (both tissues are already in the cup). The key here is not to push down on the dried wasp hard enough to break it, but to have a little bit of tension on it from the tissue so it won't bang around in the cup when it's in the mail. Put the top on the cup and put it in the shipping box, using paper towels to take up any empty space; this time the goal is to prevent the cups from banging around inside the box. Fill out the information form, enclose it in the box, tape the box firmly shut with tape, put the postage-paid address label on the outside of the box and put it in the mail. If you have entered your email address on the form, we will email you an identification of the wasp as soon as we receive it.

Catching cicadas. This is the easy part - the wasps will catch cicadas for you. If you have an active cicada-killer burrow on your property, just block the hole with a stick and wait for a female cicada-killer to come back with a paralyzed cicada. While she is trying to figure out how to get into her burrow (now blocked with a stick), gently grab the cicada by its wingtips and pull it to the rear, away from the female wasp (** Don't lift it, pull it away along the ground to the rear.**). If you then remove the stick, the wasp will enter her burrow, make an inspection and leave again to hunt for another cicada; put the stick back in the burrow when she leaves. Sometimes a female will come back without a cicada just to inspect her burrow - just remove the stick and let her in if she does. By alternately blocking and unblocking a burrow, you can get a wasp to bring you several cicadas. Shrewd entomologists use this method to sample cicadas in areas they are studying. Please freeze, dry and pack the cicadas just as you do the wasps.

Thanks very much for your help!