| Cicada killer wasps | |
|---|---|
| |
| Mating western cicada killers, Sphecius grandis (Big Bend, Texas, USA). The male is uppermost. | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Crabronidae |
| Subtribe: | Spheciina |
| Genus: | Sphecius Dahlbom, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Sphecius speciosus (Drury, 1773)
| |
| Species | |
|
Some 21, see text | |
Cicada killer wasps (genus Sphecius) are large, solitary, ground-dwelling, predatory wasps. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them, after stinging and paralyzing them. Twenty-one species worldwide are recognized. The highest diversity occurs in the region between North Africa and Central Asia.
In North America, the term "cicada killer wasp" usually refers to the most well-known species, the eastern cicada killer (S. speciosus). A few other related genera also are sometimes referred to as "cicada killers", e.g. Liogorytes in South America and Exeirus in Australia.
The use of cicadas as prey is in keeping with the typical behavior of the tribe Gorytini, which tend to specialize on various members of the Cicadomorpha as prey items.