17 year Cicadas... who's got 'em?

[shaldag]

Dayummmm, it's starting to get biblical at my house. My back stoop was nearly covered with them this morning. I took some pics yesterday and will attempt to post them this afternoon.

What are "cicada killers"? Wasp? Bird?

Cicad killers are big effing wasps. Really big and scary-looking.

Usually not aggressive toward humans, but can be, especially
during mating season. Their venom is not as powerful as many other wasp
species, but since they have a lot of it, the sting can be quite painful.

Looking forward to the pics...

 

[Mongo]

I googled cicada killers.... dang near pooped myself looking at those things! I have not seen any of those yet. I took some crappy pics a couple days ago. Things are MUCH more numerous today. I'll see if I can get my computer genius self to post....

 

[yablanowitz]

Yeah, if you think they look scary in the pictures, meet one in person. They really make a racket with those wings. The worst part is, they are usually buzzing along about three inches off the ground, and you will step on them if you aren't careful. They don't make any attempt to avoid people, they just ignore us.

 

[UffDa]

I get them every year around late August. They hang out in the aspens are hard to see. I had some better pictures of them, but I can't find them.