---
title: "Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp"
description: "Sphecius speciosus — Insecten en spinnen. Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Bembicidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/nl/animal/eastern-cicada-killer-wasp
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp

> Sphecius speciosus — Insecten en spinnen. Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Bembicidae.

- Scientific name: *Sphecius speciosus*
- Category: `insects` (Insecten en spinnen)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 32168
- Wikidata: [Q3493214](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3493214)
- iNaturalist taxon: [51954](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51954)

## Names

- en: Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp
- es: Matachicharras del Este

## Countries with the most observations

US (30122), CA (706), MX (81)

## Summary

Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp, is a large, solitary digger wasp species in the family Bembicidae. They are so named because they hunt cicadas and provision their nests with them. Cicada killers exert a measure of natural control on cicada populations, and as such, they may directly benefit the deciduous trees upon which the cicadas feed. Sometimes, they are erroneously called sand hornets, despite not truly being hornets, which belong to the family Vespidae.
The most recent review of this species' biology is found in the posthumously published comprehensive study by noted entomologist Howard Ensign…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus

## Photo

![Eastern Cicada-killer Wasp](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eastern-cicada-killer-wasp/medium.jpg)

Photo: G Key · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/57125091

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eastern-cicada-killer-wasp?lang=nl` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).