1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:02,419 Welcome to the Sunshine Gardening podcast 2 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:05,279 where we delve into the fascinating world of 3 00:00:05,279 --> 00:00:06,259 Kentucky gardening. 4 00:00:06,559 --> 00:00:08,500 I'm your host, Kristen Hildebrand, 5 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:11,460 and today we're exploring a particularly 6 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:13,059 intriguing creature, 7 00:00:13,439 --> 00:00:15,380 the cicada killer wasp. 8 00:00:15,875 --> 00:00:16,855 Often misunderstood 9 00:00:17,394 --> 00:00:20,295 and sometimes feared due to their large size 10 00:00:20,355 --> 00:00:21,175 and stinger, 11 00:00:21,554 --> 00:00:24,755 these impressive insects play a crucial role in 12 00:00:24,755 --> 00:00:25,654 our ecosystem. 13 00:00:26,515 --> 00:00:29,074 To discuss the cicada killer wasp in more 14 00:00:29,074 --> 00:00:29,574 detail, 15 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:32,960 we invited doctor Rick Besson, our University of 16 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:34,659 Kentucky Extension entomologist 17 00:00:35,439 --> 00:00:37,939 with a rich background in studying insects, 18 00:00:38,399 --> 00:00:41,760 particularly within Kentucky's ecosystem, to chat with us 19 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:42,659 on the podcast. 20 00:00:43,484 --> 00:00:46,625 Together, we will uncover the cicada killer wasp 21 00:00:46,685 --> 00:00:47,505 life cycle, 22 00:00:47,885 --> 00:00:49,425 habits, and benefits 23 00:00:49,804 --> 00:00:52,604 and learn why they might just be the 24 00:00:52,604 --> 00:00:55,024 unsung heroes of your Kentucky garden. 25 00:00:56,170 --> 00:00:58,969 So grab your gardening gloves and trials, and 26 00:00:58,969 --> 00:01:00,270 let's dig in. 27 00:01:00,890 --> 00:01:03,229 Welcome to the Sunshine Gardening podcast. 28 00:01:03,690 --> 00:01:06,650 This gardening show will equip and inspire avid 29 00:01:06,650 --> 00:01:09,045 gardeners with tips and tricks to help them 30 00:01:09,045 --> 00:01:11,685 navigate the gardening world. The show will also 31 00:01:11,685 --> 00:01:15,444 highlight specific growing requirements for seasonal plants so 32 00:01:15,444 --> 00:01:17,924 the sun will shine brighter over their Kentucky 33 00:01:17,924 --> 00:01:18,424 garden. 34 00:01:18,965 --> 00:01:21,224 And now, here's that ray of sunshine, 35 00:01:21,604 --> 00:01:23,465 garden enthusiast and horticulture 36 00:01:23,819 --> 00:01:27,500 extension agent, Kristen Hildebrand, with the University of 37 00:01:27,500 --> 00:01:29,760 Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. 38 00:01:31,659 --> 00:01:34,700 Welcome back to the sunshine gardening podcast. And 39 00:01:34,700 --> 00:01:37,340 joining with us today is doctor Rick Besson. 40 00:01:37,340 --> 00:01:38,560 How are you doctor Besson? 41 00:01:39,135 --> 00:01:39,875 I'm doing 42 00:01:40,415 --> 00:01:42,495 great. I am so glad that you were 43 00:01:42,495 --> 00:01:44,995 able to come on the podcast today because 44 00:01:45,135 --> 00:01:47,795 we have been getting some office calls 45 00:01:48,094 --> 00:01:50,594 and even visits here recently. 46 00:01:50,975 --> 00:01:53,295 I know we're recording here, a little bit 47 00:01:53,295 --> 00:01:54,995 after August, August 5th. 48 00:01:55,590 --> 00:01:57,670 But it's about a particular insect that I 49 00:01:57,670 --> 00:01:59,989 think is raising some concern for a lot 50 00:01:59,989 --> 00:02:02,069 of homeowners when they're out and about in 51 00:02:02,069 --> 00:02:03,370 their lawn and landscape, 52 00:02:03,989 --> 00:02:07,049 and that is the cicada killer wasp. 53 00:02:07,364 --> 00:02:08,805 And I was hoping that you could come 54 00:02:08,805 --> 00:02:10,645 on and provide some of your expertise in 55 00:02:10,645 --> 00:02:12,585 this area as our UK entomologist 56 00:02:13,125 --> 00:02:15,125 and just kind of explain a little bit 57 00:02:15,125 --> 00:02:16,425 more about the cicada 58 00:02:16,805 --> 00:02:19,365 killer wasp and why is it kind of 59 00:02:19,365 --> 00:02:21,625 mistaken for, a bad insect. 60 00:02:22,569 --> 00:02:24,090 Okay. Well, you got a lot wrapped up 61 00:02:24,090 --> 00:02:24,990 in those questions. 62 00:02:25,530 --> 00:02:27,530 Let me go ahead and get started. So 63 00:02:27,530 --> 00:02:29,949 the the cicada killer, when they come out, 64 00:02:30,169 --> 00:02:31,709 that's a sure sign 65 00:02:32,090 --> 00:02:33,789 you're in the, the midsummer. 66 00:02:34,090 --> 00:02:36,430 I mean, this is truly a mid 67 00:02:36,764 --> 00:02:37,264 summer 68 00:02:37,724 --> 00:02:40,364 insect that emerges. We're getting lots of calls 69 00:02:40,364 --> 00:02:42,525 about them. You know, people get concerned about 70 00:02:42,525 --> 00:02:44,364 them. They're not sure what they are. They're 71 00:02:44,364 --> 00:02:46,685 threatened by them and things like that. They 72 00:02:46,685 --> 00:02:49,965 mistake them for other insects. We'll address that 73 00:02:49,965 --> 00:02:50,465 too. 74 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:53,480 You know, cicada killers are called cicada killers 75 00:02:53,540 --> 00:02:55,640 because they go out and they hunt cicadas. 76 00:02:56,420 --> 00:02:57,400 And the particular 77 00:02:58,260 --> 00:02:58,760 cicada 78 00:02:59,140 --> 00:03:02,120 they hunt is called the dog day cicada. 79 00:03:02,740 --> 00:03:04,819 And so that tells me we're in the 80 00:03:04,819 --> 00:03:07,125 dog days of of summer. We're in the 81 00:03:07,125 --> 00:03:08,884 heat of summer right now, and the cicada 82 00:03:08,884 --> 00:03:11,044 killers are out. So they're out and patrolling 83 00:03:11,044 --> 00:03:12,185 and doing their things. 84 00:03:12,485 --> 00:03:14,724 Now a lot of people get concerned because 85 00:03:14,724 --> 00:03:16,985 they hear about things in the media. 86 00:03:17,364 --> 00:03:19,364 You know, they see the cicada. This is 87 00:03:19,364 --> 00:03:20,185 a large 88 00:03:21,060 --> 00:03:21,560 imposing 89 00:03:21,860 --> 00:03:24,199 wasp. They can be anywhere from 90 00:03:24,580 --> 00:03:27,460 3 quarters of an inch to, you know, 91 00:03:27,460 --> 00:03:29,860 2 inches in length. You know, and a 92 00:03:29,860 --> 00:03:31,719 2 inch flying insect 93 00:03:32,580 --> 00:03:35,055 is huge. You know, it's it's the Godzilla 94 00:03:35,354 --> 00:03:35,854 among, 95 00:03:36,715 --> 00:03:38,094 wasps out there. 96 00:03:38,474 --> 00:03:40,555 And so, you know, people get alarmed when 97 00:03:40,555 --> 00:03:41,694 they see it, and 98 00:03:42,074 --> 00:03:44,155 they think it may be some other things. 99 00:03:44,155 --> 00:03:46,395 And so they they may think it's a 100 00:03:46,395 --> 00:03:49,090 hornet. And we do have a few hornets 101 00:03:49,090 --> 00:03:50,629 in Kentucky. We have 102 00:03:51,009 --> 00:03:52,849 the bald faced hornet, which is black and 103 00:03:52,849 --> 00:03:55,189 white, and that's easy to tell it's different. 104 00:03:55,489 --> 00:03:56,870 But we also have 105 00:03:57,250 --> 00:04:01,085 the European hornet, which is similar in coloration 106 00:04:01,224 --> 00:04:03,544 to the cicada killer. And I think that 107 00:04:03,544 --> 00:04:05,165 those 2 get confused 108 00:04:05,544 --> 00:04:07,385 a lot with people that don't see these 109 00:04:07,385 --> 00:04:09,705 very often. But, you know, there's some things 110 00:04:09,705 --> 00:04:12,025 that make the cicada killer a little bit 111 00:04:12,025 --> 00:04:12,525 different 112 00:04:13,099 --> 00:04:16,459 than the European hornet. One is the cicada 113 00:04:16,459 --> 00:04:18,800 killer has more reddish eyes. 114 00:04:19,500 --> 00:04:22,079 The European hornet has black eyes. 115 00:04:22,540 --> 00:04:23,439 I would describe 116 00:04:23,899 --> 00:04:26,480 the European hornet as yellow 117 00:04:26,860 --> 00:04:28,399 with some black markings. 118 00:04:29,235 --> 00:04:32,375 Whereas the cicada killer would be more black 119 00:04:32,915 --> 00:04:35,795 with some yellow markings. So they're sort of 120 00:04:35,795 --> 00:04:38,115 mirror opposites. See, although they're both yellow and 121 00:04:38,115 --> 00:04:40,194 black, they're they're a little bit different. And 122 00:04:40,194 --> 00:04:42,274 then the cicada killer is a little bit 123 00:04:42,274 --> 00:04:42,774 bigger, 124 00:04:43,129 --> 00:04:45,550 and it it tends to be more pointed. 125 00:04:45,849 --> 00:04:48,250 It has a a pointy tip on the 126 00:04:48,250 --> 00:04:50,810 abdomen that that it's more of a a 127 00:04:50,810 --> 00:04:53,789 blunter tip on the European hornet. 128 00:04:54,250 --> 00:04:56,970 The other one that people sometimes get very 129 00:04:56,970 --> 00:04:58,729 upset about in the last couple years they 130 00:04:58,729 --> 00:04:59,024 have, 131 00:04:59,584 --> 00:05:01,365 thinking that the cicada killers 132 00:05:01,904 --> 00:05:04,865 were what people are calling this murder hornet. 133 00:05:04,865 --> 00:05:06,464 We try and call it the Asian hornet, 134 00:05:06,464 --> 00:05:08,305 but they were thinking it was the murder 135 00:05:08,305 --> 00:05:10,944 hornet. And we do not have murder hornets 136 00:05:10,944 --> 00:05:13,204 in Kentucky. We don't have them 137 00:05:13,529 --> 00:05:15,930 within, you know, more than a 1000 miles 138 00:05:15,930 --> 00:05:19,850 from this they just do not occur here. 139 00:05:19,850 --> 00:05:22,170 They don't they're not getting here. They're not 140 00:05:22,170 --> 00:05:23,069 on their way. 141 00:05:23,449 --> 00:05:25,389 So these are cicada killers. 142 00:05:25,955 --> 00:05:28,355 Yes. Well and I had a particular instance. 143 00:05:28,355 --> 00:05:30,275 It was an older gentleman. He brought it 144 00:05:30,275 --> 00:05:32,754 into the office, the actual insect, and he 145 00:05:32,754 --> 00:05:34,754 said, I just wanted to make sure that 146 00:05:34,754 --> 00:05:36,915 this was actually the murder hornet that I 147 00:05:36,915 --> 00:05:39,339 was killing because he was concerned about it 148 00:05:39,339 --> 00:05:41,339 taking away the bees. And like you said, 149 00:05:41,339 --> 00:05:43,339 we had that in the media, and it 150 00:05:43,339 --> 00:05:45,339 really did alarm folks. But it's good to 151 00:05:45,339 --> 00:05:47,180 know that we have not seen it in 152 00:05:47,180 --> 00:05:48,800 Kentucky, so rest assured 153 00:05:49,180 --> 00:05:50,560 that's always good information. 154 00:05:51,125 --> 00:05:53,045 But like you said, people are seeing it 155 00:05:53,045 --> 00:05:55,285 more right now, and they're just, you know, 156 00:05:55,285 --> 00:05:58,085 kinda concerned again that it might be another 157 00:05:58,085 --> 00:06:00,805 hornet too. And you mentioned a little bit 158 00:06:00,805 --> 00:06:01,944 about some of the differences. 159 00:06:02,245 --> 00:06:04,805 Is there any other distinctive features that the 160 00:06:04,805 --> 00:06:06,264 cicada killer wasp 161 00:06:07,099 --> 00:06:09,819 can you know, people can have to correctly 162 00:06:09,819 --> 00:06:12,000 identify it. I know I've seen some literature 163 00:06:12,379 --> 00:06:15,279 that it talks about females may have more 164 00:06:15,500 --> 00:06:17,039 of the stinger, 165 00:06:17,339 --> 00:06:19,099 and I believe the males do not. Is 166 00:06:19,099 --> 00:06:19,759 that correct? 167 00:06:20,474 --> 00:06:23,115 Correct. And so one thing that's true with 168 00:06:23,115 --> 00:06:25,774 all the bees and wasps and ants 169 00:06:26,154 --> 00:06:28,334 is that only females 170 00:06:28,875 --> 00:06:29,694 can sting 171 00:06:29,995 --> 00:06:32,654 because it's actually a modified egg layer 172 00:06:33,034 --> 00:06:34,094 is the stinger. 173 00:06:34,709 --> 00:06:35,449 So males, 174 00:06:36,069 --> 00:06:39,910 male bees, male wasps, male ants do not 175 00:06:39,910 --> 00:06:42,870 have stingers, cannot sting. That's just there's no 176 00:06:42,870 --> 00:06:45,509 exceptions to that. It's it's only females in 177 00:06:45,509 --> 00:06:46,250 that group. 178 00:06:46,735 --> 00:06:50,435 Now one other distinctive feature between the European 179 00:06:50,574 --> 00:06:51,074 hornet 180 00:06:51,455 --> 00:06:54,415 and the cicada killer is particularly with the 181 00:06:54,415 --> 00:06:54,915 females. 182 00:06:55,455 --> 00:06:57,395 A lot of times you can see that 183 00:06:57,455 --> 00:06:59,775 tip of that stinger. And it's a very 184 00:06:59,775 --> 00:07:00,754 impressive stinger 185 00:07:01,110 --> 00:07:03,509 sticking out the tip of the abdomen. And 186 00:07:03,509 --> 00:07:05,850 you just don't see that with the European 187 00:07:05,910 --> 00:07:08,310 hornet. It's a retractable. Both of them are 188 00:07:08,310 --> 00:07:09,930 retractable, but the European 189 00:07:10,470 --> 00:07:12,709 hornet retracts it all the way into the 190 00:07:12,709 --> 00:07:13,209 abdomen 191 00:07:13,685 --> 00:07:15,285 most of the time. And so you don't 192 00:07:15,285 --> 00:07:17,464 see it. And it's a it's a thinner, 193 00:07:18,004 --> 00:07:21,524 more needle like stinger than than the, cicada 194 00:07:21,524 --> 00:07:23,224 killer, which has a very prominent, 195 00:07:23,524 --> 00:07:24,904 bear very strong 196 00:07:25,285 --> 00:07:26,904 stinger, on the back. 197 00:07:27,529 --> 00:07:30,330 There's also some differences in how likely you 198 00:07:30,330 --> 00:07:32,889 are to get stung by these insects. You 199 00:07:32,889 --> 00:07:34,750 know, one huge difference is 200 00:07:35,370 --> 00:07:36,830 the European hornet 201 00:07:37,449 --> 00:07:38,830 is very defensive 202 00:07:39,370 --> 00:07:41,754 around their colonies. You know, you mess with 203 00:07:41,754 --> 00:07:44,634 a hornet's nest, you are gonna lose that 204 00:07:44,634 --> 00:07:47,115 battle. They're gonna come pouring out, and they're 205 00:07:47,115 --> 00:07:49,694 gonna they're gonna sting you because they defend 206 00:07:50,235 --> 00:07:52,714 their nest. And their nest is made up 207 00:07:52,714 --> 00:07:55,754 of many individual, dozens and dozens of hornets 208 00:07:55,754 --> 00:07:56,610 in that nest. 209 00:07:57,250 --> 00:07:58,469 The cicada killer 210 00:07:59,169 --> 00:08:01,110 does not defend its nest. 211 00:08:01,649 --> 00:08:03,889 And so if you if you run over 212 00:08:03,889 --> 00:08:05,569 a a ground nest, they nest in the 213 00:08:05,569 --> 00:08:07,089 ground. Let's say it's in your lawn and 214 00:08:07,089 --> 00:08:09,194 you run over with a lawnmower. They may 215 00:08:09,194 --> 00:08:11,194 fly out, but they're not gonna attack you. 216 00:08:11,194 --> 00:08:13,035 They don't defend their nest. It's not not 217 00:08:13,035 --> 00:08:13,935 in their nature. 218 00:08:14,555 --> 00:08:15,615 The other thing is 219 00:08:16,235 --> 00:08:18,875 each nest only has a single wasp in 220 00:08:18,875 --> 00:08:21,329 it. So you're not gonna get dozens that 221 00:08:21,409 --> 00:08:23,569 pour out of a ground nest because no, 222 00:08:23,569 --> 00:08:25,029 they're they're solitary. 223 00:08:25,409 --> 00:08:26,149 It's just 224 00:08:26,610 --> 00:08:27,349 one nest, 225 00:08:28,289 --> 00:08:29,750 one female wasp. 226 00:08:30,129 --> 00:08:32,209 Now there may be multiple nests in the 227 00:08:32,209 --> 00:08:34,725 area, each with their own wasp, but they're 228 00:08:34,964 --> 00:08:37,764 the each nest is just a solitary wasp 229 00:08:37,764 --> 00:08:39,524 that makes it and they don't defend their 230 00:08:39,524 --> 00:08:40,024 nest. 231 00:08:40,485 --> 00:08:40,985 So 232 00:08:41,524 --> 00:08:43,544 people are more prone to get stung, 233 00:08:44,085 --> 00:08:45,684 much more prone to get stung by a 234 00:08:45,684 --> 00:08:48,485 European hornet than they ever would from a 235 00:08:48,485 --> 00:08:51,360 cicada killer wasp. So that that's really good 236 00:08:51,360 --> 00:08:54,100 news. They're the cicada killers can be common. 237 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,039 They they can be alarming to people when 238 00:08:57,039 --> 00:08:57,940 they see them, 239 00:08:58,559 --> 00:08:59,539 but the risk 240 00:09:00,079 --> 00:09:02,399 is extremely small. Now if you if you 241 00:09:02,399 --> 00:09:04,000 if you pick one up and you hold 242 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,654 it in your hand or you you step 243 00:09:05,654 --> 00:09:07,735 on 1 with bare feet, yeah, you can 244 00:09:07,735 --> 00:09:08,475 get stung. 245 00:09:08,855 --> 00:09:10,475 But it it it feels 246 00:09:11,095 --> 00:09:13,495 very mild. It's a very mild sting, feels 247 00:09:13,495 --> 00:09:14,554 more like a pinprick. 248 00:09:15,095 --> 00:09:17,495 It's not that very painful sting you'd get 249 00:09:17,495 --> 00:09:19,889 with, say, a a honeybee or a a 250 00:09:19,889 --> 00:09:22,370 hornet or something like that that more of 251 00:09:22,370 --> 00:09:24,949 a a burning, very, very painful sting. 252 00:09:25,490 --> 00:09:27,649 Right. Right. And I'm glad that you talked 253 00:09:27,649 --> 00:09:29,169 about a little bit some more about the 254 00:09:29,169 --> 00:09:29,669 differences 255 00:09:30,215 --> 00:09:32,455 because those hornets, I mean, they are very, 256 00:09:32,455 --> 00:09:33,514 very aggressive. 257 00:09:34,134 --> 00:09:35,735 And it's good to know that the cicada 258 00:09:35,735 --> 00:09:37,415 killer is a little bit different in the 259 00:09:37,415 --> 00:09:39,514 fact that it's not gonna defend its nest. 260 00:09:39,654 --> 00:09:41,735 I was curious when you talked about nest, 261 00:09:41,735 --> 00:09:43,595 I was hoping that you could elaborate 262 00:09:43,950 --> 00:09:46,769 a little bit more about the cicada killer's 263 00:09:46,910 --> 00:09:47,649 life cycle 264 00:09:48,029 --> 00:09:50,190 and a little bit more about its habitat. 265 00:09:50,190 --> 00:09:51,710 Because like you said, we're in the dog 266 00:09:51,710 --> 00:09:53,549 days of summer, so we're seeing more of 267 00:09:53,549 --> 00:09:55,549 them right now. But can you walk us 268 00:09:55,549 --> 00:09:56,850 through what that looks like? 269 00:09:57,324 --> 00:09:58,845 Okay. And let me just focus in on 270 00:09:58,845 --> 00:10:01,664 the cicada killer wasp. And so there's males 271 00:10:01,884 --> 00:10:02,865 and there's females. 272 00:10:03,324 --> 00:10:05,725 The female makes her nest in the ground. 273 00:10:05,725 --> 00:10:08,764 The she likes well drained soil, so she 274 00:10:08,764 --> 00:10:10,225 doesn't like wet soil. 275 00:10:10,764 --> 00:10:12,684 She likes it a little bit open. You 276 00:10:12,684 --> 00:10:14,920 know, a really thick lawn 277 00:10:15,379 --> 00:10:17,700 does not promote cicada killers. But, you know, 278 00:10:17,700 --> 00:10:20,340 if you have thinner patches in your lawn 279 00:10:20,340 --> 00:10:22,580 or or maybe you have patches where where 280 00:10:22,580 --> 00:10:25,059 shrubs overhang the lawn and there's a shaded 281 00:10:25,059 --> 00:10:27,024 area where it's a little thinner, Those are 282 00:10:27,024 --> 00:10:29,845 potential habitats that, you know, a cicada killer 283 00:10:30,225 --> 00:10:32,325 could pick to to make her nest. 284 00:10:32,705 --> 00:10:35,504 Over her lifespan, she may makes several of 285 00:10:35,504 --> 00:10:38,144 these nests. Now underground, she's gonna make the 286 00:10:38,144 --> 00:10:39,365 nest during the summer. 287 00:10:40,009 --> 00:10:42,570 And there may be several burrows in there. 288 00:10:42,570 --> 00:10:44,269 Each e well, several, 289 00:10:44,649 --> 00:10:46,990 I should say, chambers in a burrow. 290 00:10:47,370 --> 00:10:49,470 And each of those, she's gonna provision 291 00:10:49,929 --> 00:10:50,830 with cicadas. 292 00:10:51,690 --> 00:10:54,409 So she goes out and she finds the 293 00:10:54,409 --> 00:10:56,475 cicadas. When she finds one, 294 00:10:56,855 --> 00:11:00,695 she stings it. She immobilizes it. She puts 295 00:11:00,695 --> 00:11:02,455 it under her body. She holds on to 296 00:11:02,455 --> 00:11:03,434 it with her legs, 297 00:11:04,054 --> 00:11:06,315 and she carries it back to her burrow. 298 00:11:06,535 --> 00:11:07,514 And that sounds 299 00:11:08,134 --> 00:11:10,450 like a plan. But, you know, not all 300 00:11:10,450 --> 00:11:11,750 plans work out. 301 00:11:12,129 --> 00:11:14,370 That's right. That's right. But, you know, it's 302 00:11:14,370 --> 00:11:17,110 like she is a hunter for these cicadas. 303 00:11:18,290 --> 00:11:19,190 And sometimes, 304 00:11:19,649 --> 00:11:22,230 she's such a good hunter. She catches something 305 00:11:22,610 --> 00:11:23,750 she can't lift. 306 00:11:25,254 --> 00:11:26,934 And so, you know, even though the plan 307 00:11:26,934 --> 00:11:28,215 is she's gonna carry it back to her 308 00:11:28,215 --> 00:11:30,794 burrow and sometimes, well, that doesn't work out. 309 00:11:30,934 --> 00:11:32,794 And so she has a plan b. 310 00:11:33,095 --> 00:11:35,415 And her plan b is to put that 311 00:11:35,415 --> 00:11:37,740 underneath her legs and she carries it. And 312 00:11:37,740 --> 00:11:40,059 she may climb a tree holding onto that 313 00:11:40,059 --> 00:11:41,659 cicada. She'll get to the top of the 314 00:11:41,659 --> 00:11:42,159 tree 315 00:11:42,460 --> 00:11:45,179 and she'll sort of fly slash glide as 316 00:11:45,179 --> 00:11:46,320 far as she can. 317 00:11:46,779 --> 00:11:48,539 Then she'll find another tree and she'll go 318 00:11:48,539 --> 00:11:51,340 up. She'll fly and glide until she gets 319 00:11:51,340 --> 00:11:52,960 all the way back to her burrow. 320 00:11:53,514 --> 00:11:55,754 Sometimes when there's at a tree with there's 321 00:11:55,754 --> 00:11:58,815 no tree, you may see cicada killers actually 322 00:11:58,955 --> 00:12:01,054 dragging the cicada over the ground, 323 00:12:01,434 --> 00:12:03,595 getting back to her burrow. But she'll do 324 00:12:03,595 --> 00:12:06,169 this. And then she'll lay an egg. Once 325 00:12:06,169 --> 00:12:08,169 she buries it in the chamber, she lays 326 00:12:08,169 --> 00:12:09,709 an egg on the cicada, 327 00:12:10,490 --> 00:12:13,709 and that that egg hatches and that cicada 328 00:12:13,850 --> 00:12:14,350 larva 329 00:12:15,129 --> 00:12:16,589 will feed on that cicada, 330 00:12:16,970 --> 00:12:18,809 and it it will use that cicada as 331 00:12:18,809 --> 00:12:21,295 its food source. And the next year, you'll 332 00:12:21,295 --> 00:12:24,495 get a cicada killer wasp that that came 333 00:12:24,495 --> 00:12:26,195 from that, that larva. 334 00:12:26,575 --> 00:12:29,774 Now with the males, male cicada killers are 335 00:12:29,774 --> 00:12:31,875 a little bit smaller than the females. 336 00:12:32,495 --> 00:12:34,274 That's because the female usually 337 00:12:34,815 --> 00:12:37,929 only captures 1 male or 1 cicada 338 00:12:38,629 --> 00:12:40,789 for a male. They don't need as much 339 00:12:40,789 --> 00:12:43,690 energy as as the female. Whereas a female, 340 00:12:44,070 --> 00:12:46,490 where she's gonna lay a a female egg, 341 00:12:46,789 --> 00:12:49,210 she may provide 2 or 3 cicadas 342 00:12:49,774 --> 00:12:51,375 for it to feed on, and you get 343 00:12:51,375 --> 00:12:52,355 a much larger 344 00:12:52,815 --> 00:12:53,875 female cicada. 345 00:12:54,654 --> 00:12:56,434 So a little bit different. 346 00:12:56,894 --> 00:12:59,054 Now one other thing that's a little bit 347 00:12:59,054 --> 00:13:00,975 different is that the female goes out and 348 00:13:00,975 --> 00:13:03,235 hunts for cicadas. The male does not. 349 00:13:03,860 --> 00:13:07,000 Really, the male is patrolling for females. 350 00:13:07,539 --> 00:13:08,919 I mean, that's what it does. 351 00:13:09,379 --> 00:13:12,019 And, you know, particularly where people have some 352 00:13:12,019 --> 00:13:14,259 of these burrows in their lawns or or 353 00:13:14,259 --> 00:13:16,980 in their their gardens and they get concerned 354 00:13:16,980 --> 00:13:19,014 about them, they'll see the females and they 355 00:13:19,014 --> 00:13:21,654 usually fly very quickly away from their their 356 00:13:21,654 --> 00:13:23,674 nest and they they come back very quickly. 357 00:13:24,214 --> 00:13:27,334 They don't bother anything. But the males sorta 358 00:13:27,334 --> 00:13:28,394 hover around 359 00:13:29,014 --> 00:13:30,315 these nesting areas. 360 00:13:31,049 --> 00:13:33,549 And if someone walks over there, the male, 361 00:13:33,690 --> 00:13:36,429 it will threaten other male cicada killer wasps. 362 00:13:36,649 --> 00:13:38,970 And it also may, you know, act like 363 00:13:38,970 --> 00:13:41,129 a threat to people too. But keep in 364 00:13:41,129 --> 00:13:43,470 mind, the male has no stinger. 365 00:13:43,944 --> 00:13:45,164 It's just all bluster 366 00:13:45,704 --> 00:13:48,024 with the male. And so they do act 367 00:13:48,024 --> 00:13:49,324 a little bit more aggressive 368 00:13:49,625 --> 00:13:51,944 and and they do react to people. The 369 00:13:51,944 --> 00:13:53,804 female really doesn't. But 370 00:13:54,184 --> 00:13:56,529 all in all, the cicada killers, I think 371 00:13:56,529 --> 00:13:58,929 they they provide an important service. You know, 372 00:13:58,929 --> 00:14:00,230 they're helping to control 373 00:14:00,769 --> 00:14:01,910 cicada populations. 374 00:14:02,610 --> 00:14:03,669 They're not aggressive. 375 00:14:04,049 --> 00:14:06,210 Yes, it's possible to get stung, but it's 376 00:14:06,210 --> 00:14:08,610 very rare. And even when someone does get 377 00:14:08,610 --> 00:14:09,110 stung, 378 00:14:09,410 --> 00:14:09,910 it's 379 00:14:10,365 --> 00:14:13,325 generally not a health issue at all. It's 380 00:14:13,325 --> 00:14:15,264 important to recognize what's out there 381 00:14:15,725 --> 00:14:17,825 and what the relative risks are. 382 00:14:18,445 --> 00:14:20,544 Yeah. And like for the cicadas, 383 00:14:21,565 --> 00:14:23,879 a lot of times they can do some 384 00:14:23,879 --> 00:14:26,459 damage for younger trees in the landscape. 385 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:28,759 So it's like you said, it's like mother 386 00:14:28,759 --> 00:14:31,559 nature's way of helping us with the cicada 387 00:14:31,559 --> 00:14:32,059 population. 388 00:14:32,839 --> 00:14:33,879 Yes. Yeah. And, 389 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:36,299 I was in the woods this weekend, 390 00:14:36,924 --> 00:14:38,845 and I I was sitting in the woods 391 00:14:38,845 --> 00:14:41,485 trying to listen and hear birds in the 392 00:14:41,485 --> 00:14:41,985 woods. 393 00:14:42,445 --> 00:14:44,285 And, unfortunately, I couldn't hear them over the 394 00:14:44,285 --> 00:14:45,184 cicada calls. 395 00:14:45,565 --> 00:14:47,565 So I was actually hoping for more cicada 396 00:14:47,565 --> 00:14:50,045 killer wasps to reduce the noise from the 397 00:14:50,045 --> 00:14:52,110 cicadas. Yeah. And you brought up a really 398 00:14:52,110 --> 00:14:55,470 good fact there. Do these cicada killer wasps, 399 00:14:55,470 --> 00:14:57,149 do they have any kind of noise about 400 00:14:57,149 --> 00:15:00,350 them when they're kinda patrolling or, like you 401 00:15:00,350 --> 00:15:02,990 said, looking for cicadas at all? No. I've 402 00:15:02,990 --> 00:15:05,409 I've never heard any any noise. And, 403 00:15:05,784 --> 00:15:07,625 you know, the the males around the nest, 404 00:15:07,625 --> 00:15:09,065 you hear a little bit of buzzing just 405 00:15:09,065 --> 00:15:10,745 as they're flying around. But, you know, the 406 00:15:10,745 --> 00:15:13,144 the the, cicada killer wasp, if they were 407 00:15:13,144 --> 00:15:15,705 hunting for cicadas in your yard, they would 408 00:15:15,705 --> 00:15:17,465 be up in the trees, and you would 409 00:15:17,465 --> 00:15:19,980 probably never notice it. You know, they're they're 410 00:15:19,980 --> 00:15:22,220 not gonna be in spots where where they 411 00:15:22,220 --> 00:15:24,540 really interact with us. The only place you 412 00:15:24,540 --> 00:15:27,440 really interact with a cicada killer not wasp 413 00:15:27,820 --> 00:15:29,980 is where you have those burrows in the 414 00:15:29,980 --> 00:15:30,480 ground. 415 00:15:30,779 --> 00:15:31,274 And 416 00:15:31,754 --> 00:15:34,394 some people do get a little bit upset 417 00:15:34,394 --> 00:15:37,375 with the burrowing activity of the cicada killers 418 00:15:37,754 --> 00:15:39,754 just because the the hole is about a 419 00:15:39,754 --> 00:15:41,995 half inch in size and it can be 420 00:15:41,995 --> 00:15:43,675 almost a foot down in the ground, so 421 00:15:43,675 --> 00:15:45,695 they bring up a lot of dirt material. 422 00:15:46,230 --> 00:15:48,070 And sometimes you see that coming up on 423 00:15:48,070 --> 00:15:49,589 the lawns where you have a lot of 424 00:15:49,589 --> 00:15:51,669 nests or you may see that spilling onto 425 00:15:51,669 --> 00:15:53,830 sidewalks. And so it can be a little 426 00:15:53,830 --> 00:15:55,450 bit unsightly with that. 427 00:15:55,830 --> 00:15:58,009 But, you know, that's more of a nuisance 428 00:15:58,335 --> 00:16:00,415 than you know, it's it's really not degrading 429 00:16:00,415 --> 00:16:02,175 the lawn or or other things. It it's 430 00:16:02,175 --> 00:16:03,235 more just a visual 431 00:16:03,615 --> 00:16:06,335 nuisance. Now in in terms of homeowners that 432 00:16:06,335 --> 00:16:08,735 don't want that, you know, there's some things 433 00:16:08,735 --> 00:16:12,115 that they can do to reduce the attractiveness 434 00:16:12,735 --> 00:16:13,554 for nests. 435 00:16:13,940 --> 00:16:17,159 Cicadas really don't like wet ground, so 436 00:16:17,620 --> 00:16:19,399 deep watering of those areas 437 00:16:19,779 --> 00:16:22,120 makes it less favorable for for cicadas. 438 00:16:22,820 --> 00:16:24,600 You know, if you have a a thicker 439 00:16:24,659 --> 00:16:27,379 lawn, you know, higher mowing height, that type 440 00:16:27,379 --> 00:16:29,835 of thing, That's good for your lawn. It's 441 00:16:29,835 --> 00:16:32,235 also good at, you know, reducing the number 442 00:16:32,235 --> 00:16:33,615 of cicada killer wasps. 443 00:16:34,235 --> 00:16:36,955 You know, if they're a lot underneath some 444 00:16:36,955 --> 00:16:39,675 bushes and and shrubs in the garden, you 445 00:16:39,675 --> 00:16:41,134 know, a layer of mulch 446 00:16:41,490 --> 00:16:42,129 there can, 447 00:16:42,529 --> 00:16:44,289 can help reduce those things. So there's some 448 00:16:44,289 --> 00:16:45,590 simple things we can do 449 00:16:45,970 --> 00:16:48,610 rather than, you know, grabbing the pesticide off 450 00:16:48,610 --> 00:16:51,029 off the shelf to, solve the problem. 451 00:16:51,409 --> 00:16:53,809 Yeah. And that seems to be, like, instinct 452 00:16:53,809 --> 00:16:55,889 of ours. You know, we wanna take care 453 00:16:55,889 --> 00:16:57,065 of ourselves 454 00:16:57,524 --> 00:17:00,644 and our environment around us. And does the 455 00:17:00,644 --> 00:17:03,365 cicada killer wasp, does it kinda harm any 456 00:17:03,365 --> 00:17:04,904 pets that might be outdoors? 457 00:17:05,684 --> 00:17:07,224 Well, that depends 458 00:17:07,765 --> 00:17:08,265 because 459 00:17:08,789 --> 00:17:11,450 not all pests act the same. And so, 460 00:17:11,750 --> 00:17:13,769 you know, if if you happen to have 461 00:17:14,309 --> 00:17:16,390 a dog or cat that likes you know, 462 00:17:16,390 --> 00:17:18,890 I've I've seen dogs that they chase bumblebees 463 00:17:19,029 --> 00:17:20,490 and they try and eat bumblebees 464 00:17:20,950 --> 00:17:22,330 and things like that. 465 00:17:22,705 --> 00:17:24,705 You know, if they try and eat a 466 00:17:24,705 --> 00:17:27,424 female cicada killer wasp, I don't know what's 467 00:17:27,424 --> 00:17:30,305 gonna happen. All bets are off. But generally, 468 00:17:30,305 --> 00:17:32,565 for pets that tend to leave things alone, 469 00:17:32,865 --> 00:17:34,865 there's no problem at all. But, you know, 470 00:17:34,865 --> 00:17:37,410 the not all of our pets are that 471 00:17:37,410 --> 00:17:38,769 way. Some some are more, 472 00:17:39,890 --> 00:17:40,390 adventurous. 473 00:17:40,930 --> 00:17:43,090 Exactly. Exactly. So I guess it just like 474 00:17:43,090 --> 00:17:45,170 you said, it depends on the case and 475 00:17:45,170 --> 00:17:47,650 your pet too. But I was curious about 476 00:17:47,650 --> 00:17:49,730 that, you know, because they are outside in 477 00:17:49,730 --> 00:17:52,450 that area where the cicada killer wasp can 478 00:17:52,450 --> 00:17:54,445 be. So I wanted to ask you that. 479 00:17:54,585 --> 00:17:57,305 You know, as far as, like, knowing a 480 00:17:57,305 --> 00:17:59,484 little bit more about these particular 481 00:18:00,345 --> 00:18:02,585 wasp and things like that, is there any 482 00:18:02,585 --> 00:18:04,684 other thing that we need to probably realize, 483 00:18:05,279 --> 00:18:06,720 especially, like, I know they take care of 484 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,039 the cicadas that build up. But are they 485 00:18:09,039 --> 00:18:10,180 doing any other, 486 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:11,539 like, particular 487 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,440 role in for our environment besides that? Yeah. 488 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,375 Yeah. Well, let let let's talk about someone's 489 00:18:18,375 --> 00:18:20,295 lawn. It's like Mhmm. I talked about the 490 00:18:20,295 --> 00:18:21,355 negative aspect 491 00:18:21,974 --> 00:18:24,055 that, you know, their the tailings from their 492 00:18:24,055 --> 00:18:24,555 tunneling 493 00:18:25,015 --> 00:18:27,015 that being an issue in the lawn. But 494 00:18:27,015 --> 00:18:28,154 at the same time, 495 00:18:28,535 --> 00:18:31,914 they're creating aeration by tunneling into the lawn. 496 00:18:32,299 --> 00:18:33,440 They're dropping 497 00:18:34,140 --> 00:18:35,819 cicadas in there. And, you know, one of 498 00:18:35,819 --> 00:18:36,559 those burrows 499 00:18:37,019 --> 00:18:37,759 can have 500 00:18:38,380 --> 00:18:39,359 many dozen 501 00:18:39,740 --> 00:18:40,960 cicadas in there. 502 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:44,299 And, yeah, the the cicada killer wasp larvae 503 00:18:44,299 --> 00:18:46,059 eat some of it. They don't eat all 504 00:18:46,059 --> 00:18:49,034 of it, and you actually get some nutrients 505 00:18:49,335 --> 00:18:49,835 deposited 506 00:18:50,454 --> 00:18:52,214 in your lawn. So, you know, it it 507 00:18:52,214 --> 00:18:54,774 helps to feed your lawn midsummer when you 508 00:18:54,774 --> 00:18:57,255 may not have a lot of food for 509 00:18:57,255 --> 00:18:59,200 your lawn out there. And so a lot 510 00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,039 of times we tend to focus on the 511 00:19:01,039 --> 00:19:02,740 negatives, but there's also positives. 512 00:19:03,279 --> 00:19:06,400 And I think having a low number of 513 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,880 cicada killer wasps, you know, in and around 514 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:10,400 your home, it can be a very good 515 00:19:10,400 --> 00:19:10,900 thing. 516 00:19:11,295 --> 00:19:13,535 I have seen some situations where you just 517 00:19:13,535 --> 00:19:16,015 have too many, you know, where where where 518 00:19:16,015 --> 00:19:16,835 you may have 519 00:19:17,535 --> 00:19:18,755 50 to a 100 520 00:19:19,134 --> 00:19:21,375 boroughs and the wasp. And it's like, no. 521 00:19:21,375 --> 00:19:22,975 You you probably need to do that. You 522 00:19:22,975 --> 00:19:24,355 may may need to rethink, 523 00:19:24,849 --> 00:19:25,750 you know, your landscaping. 524 00:19:26,450 --> 00:19:28,629 So so it's not not a a hotel 525 00:19:28,690 --> 00:19:29,009 for, 526 00:19:29,730 --> 00:19:31,029 cicada killer wasps. 527 00:19:31,569 --> 00:19:34,470 But, yeah, they they provide an important role. 528 00:19:34,690 --> 00:19:37,329 Controlling cicadas, they tend to be specialists. They're 529 00:19:37,329 --> 00:19:38,309 not after 530 00:19:38,914 --> 00:19:40,934 stink bugs or grasshoppers 531 00:19:41,554 --> 00:19:43,575 or anything like that. They are after 532 00:19:43,875 --> 00:19:44,375 cicadas. 533 00:19:44,914 --> 00:19:47,554 Now if we happen to have a year 534 00:19:47,554 --> 00:19:48,454 where the 535 00:19:49,075 --> 00:19:49,575 periodical 536 00:19:49,875 --> 00:19:52,294 cicada comes out a little bit late, 537 00:19:52,950 --> 00:19:55,109 some of those actually may be attacked by 538 00:19:55,109 --> 00:19:58,009 the cicada killer wasp, the very early emergers. 539 00:19:58,630 --> 00:20:01,029 Usually, they're they're separate, but they're not always 540 00:20:01,029 --> 00:20:01,529 separate. 541 00:20:02,069 --> 00:20:03,750 And so they can help out a little 542 00:20:03,750 --> 00:20:05,609 bit with the periodical cicada. 543 00:20:06,075 --> 00:20:08,794 And by the way, if if someone happened 544 00:20:08,794 --> 00:20:10,335 to miss out on the cicadas, 545 00:20:10,875 --> 00:20:14,315 the periodical cicada this year, well, next year 546 00:20:14,315 --> 00:20:16,394 is gonna be your year because that that's 547 00:20:16,394 --> 00:20:19,214 when we're gonna get the periodical cicada across 548 00:20:19,595 --> 00:20:20,734 the state of Kentucky. 549 00:20:21,430 --> 00:20:23,269 So So we may see a little bit 550 00:20:23,269 --> 00:20:25,830 more cicada killer wasp out and about just 551 00:20:25,830 --> 00:20:27,130 because of that. Correct? 552 00:20:27,830 --> 00:20:29,529 Yes. Yeah. And another 553 00:20:29,910 --> 00:20:31,289 question I get occasionally 554 00:20:31,910 --> 00:20:33,830 is, well, I'm seeing a lot of cicada 555 00:20:33,830 --> 00:20:35,768 killer wasps out this year. Is that because 556 00:20:35,768 --> 00:20:35,916 there's a lot of cicadas out this year? 557 00:20:35,916 --> 00:20:36,570 Mhmm. And the question really is, 558 00:20:37,005 --> 00:20:38,224 cicadas out this year? 559 00:20:38,525 --> 00:20:41,644 Mhmm. And the question really is or the 560 00:20:41,644 --> 00:20:43,984 answer really is, it depends upon 561 00:20:44,365 --> 00:20:46,765 what the cicadas were last year because the 562 00:20:46,765 --> 00:20:48,384 wasps you see this year 563 00:20:48,924 --> 00:20:52,065 were produced last year from last year's cicadas. 564 00:20:52,230 --> 00:20:53,750 And so if we have a boom year 565 00:20:53,750 --> 00:20:56,630 for cicada killer wasps this year, probably meant 566 00:20:56,630 --> 00:20:59,190 we had a boom year for cicadas last 567 00:20:59,190 --> 00:21:01,669 year. So this year is gonna affect what 568 00:21:01,669 --> 00:21:04,309 we see next year. Yes. Yes. And the 569 00:21:04,309 --> 00:21:05,829 ones that I have seen so far from 570 00:21:05,829 --> 00:21:08,154 pictures and then that one gentleman that brought 571 00:21:08,154 --> 00:21:10,555 in that sample, it was fairly large. So 572 00:21:10,555 --> 00:21:12,394 I knew he had been around for or 573 00:21:12,394 --> 00:21:14,075 she had been around. One was a female. 574 00:21:14,075 --> 00:21:15,615 I think the other one was a male. 575 00:21:15,835 --> 00:21:18,875 But I really appreciate you talking about this 576 00:21:18,875 --> 00:21:19,375 particular 577 00:21:19,674 --> 00:21:22,080 wasp because it is so important to kinda 578 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:22,900 know the differences, 579 00:21:23,279 --> 00:21:24,799 and I know that you've helped a lot 580 00:21:24,799 --> 00:21:27,279 of people out just by talking about some 581 00:21:27,279 --> 00:21:30,500 of the identifiers with this particular insect too. 582 00:21:30,559 --> 00:21:32,720 Is there any way that the public can 583 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:33,700 help conserve 584 00:21:34,414 --> 00:21:36,494 these wasp? I know you kinda mentioned if 585 00:21:36,494 --> 00:21:38,815 they have a big population, but maybe there's 586 00:21:38,815 --> 00:21:40,414 some things that we can do to help 587 00:21:40,414 --> 00:21:41,315 them as well. 588 00:21:42,015 --> 00:21:43,775 Yeah. I mean, there are some things that 589 00:21:43,775 --> 00:21:46,355 that that people can do. And and really, 590 00:21:46,539 --> 00:21:48,380 one of the things that that I I 591 00:21:48,380 --> 00:21:51,839 really recommend is limiting some of the insecticides 592 00:21:52,220 --> 00:21:53,119 they may use, 593 00:21:53,420 --> 00:21:55,819 you know, in their lawn and landscape. Now 594 00:21:55,819 --> 00:21:56,480 I'm not 595 00:21:56,779 --> 00:21:58,559 completely anti pesticide, 596 00:21:59,375 --> 00:22:01,855 but I do feel strongly we should only 597 00:22:01,855 --> 00:22:04,275 use them when they're actually needed. 598 00:22:04,815 --> 00:22:06,255 And there's a lot of times, you know, 599 00:22:06,255 --> 00:22:07,795 people say, well, you know, 600 00:22:08,174 --> 00:22:10,255 it's the 5th August. I I need to 601 00:22:10,255 --> 00:22:11,934 go out and use an insecticide on my 602 00:22:11,934 --> 00:22:13,455 lawn. That's not a good reason to use 603 00:22:13,455 --> 00:22:14,115 an insecticide. 604 00:22:14,419 --> 00:22:16,359 You know, it's because I have a particular 605 00:22:16,419 --> 00:22:16,919 problem 606 00:22:17,380 --> 00:22:18,519 or or there's 607 00:22:18,980 --> 00:22:21,220 indications that this problem is about to hit 608 00:22:21,220 --> 00:22:22,819 and that now is the time to treat 609 00:22:22,819 --> 00:22:24,419 it. And so I I would 610 00:22:25,140 --> 00:22:26,359 in terms of preserving 611 00:22:26,819 --> 00:22:28,279 the cicada killer wasp, 612 00:22:28,865 --> 00:22:30,244 limiting the insecticide 613 00:22:30,545 --> 00:22:31,045 applications 614 00:22:31,345 --> 00:22:33,125 that people make. Another 615 00:22:33,424 --> 00:22:35,904 thing I didn't bring up with the cicada 616 00:22:35,904 --> 00:22:36,404 killer 617 00:22:36,705 --> 00:22:38,785 is that some people that are concerned, they're 618 00:22:38,785 --> 00:22:40,785 seeing their wasps like, how long is it 619 00:22:40,785 --> 00:22:41,605 gonna be, 620 00:22:42,019 --> 00:22:43,700 you know, in, in my garden? How long 621 00:22:43,700 --> 00:22:45,379 am I gonna have to put up with 622 00:22:45,379 --> 00:22:45,879 this? 623 00:22:46,259 --> 00:22:48,259 And that they're not active that long. You 624 00:22:48,259 --> 00:22:49,879 know, it's gonna be 6, 625 00:22:50,500 --> 00:22:51,639 maybe 8 weeks 626 00:22:51,940 --> 00:22:55,139 maximum that you see this activity. So they're 627 00:22:55,139 --> 00:22:58,115 gonna come out at the end of July. 628 00:22:58,815 --> 00:23:00,914 It's really sometime in in September 629 00:23:01,215 --> 00:23:04,174 that their activity diminishes. We only see 1 630 00:23:04,174 --> 00:23:07,154 generation per year, so there's only one emergence 631 00:23:07,295 --> 00:23:09,615 of the cicada killers. And they're not gonna 632 00:23:09,615 --> 00:23:10,835 come out again till 633 00:23:11,250 --> 00:23:12,950 next July in 2025. 634 00:23:14,289 --> 00:23:16,309 And it seems like it's been an earlier 635 00:23:16,609 --> 00:23:19,089 or I should say, it's been warmer this 636 00:23:19,089 --> 00:23:21,349 year. I think it's gotten warmer 637 00:23:21,650 --> 00:23:23,835 gradually. You know? But I know that we've 638 00:23:23,835 --> 00:23:26,075 probably seen a little bit earlier activity this 639 00:23:26,075 --> 00:23:28,794 year versus some other years. So I appreciate 640 00:23:28,794 --> 00:23:30,974 you kinda talking to us about that too. 641 00:23:31,115 --> 00:23:32,474 Now I know that there's a lot of 642 00:23:32,474 --> 00:23:35,034 things that we've covered particularly in this podcast 643 00:23:35,034 --> 00:23:37,534 episode about this, Kayda killer wasp. 644 00:23:37,970 --> 00:23:40,289 Is there any other information that you could 645 00:23:40,289 --> 00:23:42,450 recommend in written form if people wanted to 646 00:23:42,450 --> 00:23:44,769 go back and check this out? Yes. Thank 647 00:23:44,769 --> 00:23:45,250 you for, 648 00:23:45,890 --> 00:23:48,130 asking me that because we have a fact 649 00:23:48,130 --> 00:23:49,349 sheet. It's available 650 00:23:49,809 --> 00:23:50,309 online 651 00:23:50,904 --> 00:23:52,444 at the UK Entomology 652 00:23:53,065 --> 00:23:53,565 website. 653 00:23:53,865 --> 00:23:55,964 So if you search on UK 654 00:23:56,265 --> 00:23:56,765 Entomology, 655 00:23:57,305 --> 00:23:59,625 cicada killer wasp, it will bring up the 656 00:23:59,625 --> 00:24:02,424 fact sheet. They're they're free of charge. It's 657 00:24:02,424 --> 00:24:03,805 it's the latest information. 658 00:24:04,265 --> 00:24:06,444 And I have to say we tailor that 659 00:24:06,900 --> 00:24:07,559 towards Kentucky. 660 00:24:08,660 --> 00:24:11,320 So it's really meant for, you know, Kentucky 661 00:24:11,380 --> 00:24:12,519 residents. And, 662 00:24:12,820 --> 00:24:15,059 you know, if you're listening to this podcast 663 00:24:15,059 --> 00:24:17,880 from another state, your state may also have 664 00:24:18,019 --> 00:24:20,440 some fact sheets or other materials available. 665 00:24:20,820 --> 00:24:23,115 The one thing I'm very biased in what 666 00:24:23,115 --> 00:24:24,894 I recommend online, but 667 00:24:25,195 --> 00:24:27,775 when you look for information, I always recommend 668 00:24:27,914 --> 00:24:29,674 that, you look to see if it's from 669 00:24:29,674 --> 00:24:30,335 a site 670 00:24:30,714 --> 00:24:33,454 Internet site that ends in dot edu. 671 00:24:33,914 --> 00:24:35,695 And that means it's from an educational 672 00:24:36,234 --> 00:24:36,734 organization. 673 00:24:37,369 --> 00:24:39,289 They don't have any vested interests. They're not 674 00:24:39,289 --> 00:24:40,509 trying to sell you something. 675 00:24:40,890 --> 00:24:42,490 But, you know, if you're in Kentucky, I 676 00:24:42,490 --> 00:24:44,890 recommend that you come to our website and 677 00:24:44,890 --> 00:24:46,809 check out our our fact sheet for more 678 00:24:46,809 --> 00:24:47,309 information. 679 00:24:47,769 --> 00:24:49,450 If you're in another state, see what your 680 00:24:49,450 --> 00:24:50,350 state has available. 681 00:24:50,984 --> 00:24:53,404 Yeah. Yeah. And if anybody does have questions 682 00:24:53,545 --> 00:24:54,365 about identifying 683 00:24:54,984 --> 00:24:57,224 the cicada killer wasp, you can always send 684 00:24:57,224 --> 00:24:59,325 it in to us at the extension office. 685 00:24:59,384 --> 00:25:02,265 I certainly appreciate you mentioning the entomology fact 686 00:25:02,265 --> 00:25:04,109 sheet. You all do a great job of 687 00:25:04,269 --> 00:25:06,690 passing that information to us from the university 688 00:25:06,750 --> 00:25:08,029 so that way we can pass it on 689 00:25:08,029 --> 00:25:10,269 to the clients. So thanks for all that 690 00:25:10,269 --> 00:25:12,429 you do, doctor Besson. Thank you for coming 691 00:25:12,429 --> 00:25:14,910 on the show today with us too, and 692 00:25:14,910 --> 00:25:16,990 we'll definitely have to have you back again 693 00:25:16,990 --> 00:25:17,809 next time. 694 00:25:18,315 --> 00:25:19,694 Okay. Well, thank you, Kristen. 695 00:25:19,994 --> 00:25:22,394 Thank you for listening to the Sunshine Gardening 696 00:25:22,394 --> 00:25:22,894 podcast. 697 00:25:23,355 --> 00:25:25,755 We thank doctor Rick Besson for sharing his 698 00:25:25,755 --> 00:25:28,335 valuable insights as our guest in this episode. 699 00:25:28,714 --> 00:25:30,890 We hope you found the discussion about the 700 00:25:30,890 --> 00:25:33,609 cicada killer wasp and its vital role in 701 00:25:33,609 --> 00:25:35,470 maintaining garden ecosystems 702 00:25:36,089 --> 00:25:36,589 informative. 703 00:25:37,289 --> 00:25:40,269 It's essential to recognize that not all insects 704 00:25:40,409 --> 00:25:41,230 are pests. 705 00:25:41,769 --> 00:25:45,015 Some, like the cicada killer wasp, are beneficial 706 00:25:45,315 --> 00:25:47,095 allies in our gardening efforts 707 00:25:47,394 --> 00:25:49,174 and we should value their contributions. 708 00:25:50,194 --> 00:25:52,835 To access the publication mentioned by Doctor. Rick 709 00:25:52,835 --> 00:25:54,375 Besson in today's episode, 710 00:25:54,835 --> 00:25:57,095 please refer to the show notes for episode 711 00:25:57,154 --> 00:25:57,654 36 712 00:25:57,970 --> 00:25:59,670 over on the blog at warrencountyagriculture.com. 713 00:26:02,610 --> 00:26:04,789 Now if you enjoyed today's episode, 714 00:26:05,090 --> 00:26:07,490 we would be incredibly grateful if you could 715 00:26:07,490 --> 00:26:10,230 leave a review on your preferred podcast platform. 716 00:26:10,964 --> 00:26:13,464 Your reviews help us connect with more people 717 00:26:13,765 --> 00:26:16,585 and provide valuable feedback for improvement. 718 00:26:17,204 --> 00:26:19,365 Also, feel free to reach out with any 719 00:26:19,365 --> 00:26:22,904 questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes. 720 00:26:23,619 --> 00:26:26,500 Remember to subscribe to the Sunshine Gardening podcast 721 00:26:26,500 --> 00:26:27,960 for more gardening insights, 722 00:26:28,259 --> 00:26:30,819 and join us next time as we explore 723 00:26:30,819 --> 00:26:33,059 new ways to cultivate the garden of your 724 00:26:33,059 --> 00:26:34,759 dreams. Until then, 725 00:26:35,140 --> 00:26:36,200 happy gardening. 726 00:26:38,224 --> 00:26:40,884 Thanks for listening to the Sunshine Gardening podcast 727 00:26:40,944 --> 00:26:42,085 with Kristen Hildebrand. 728 00:26:42,464 --> 00:26:44,865 If you enjoyed today's content, make sure to 729 00:26:44,865 --> 00:26:47,265 hit the subscribe button wherever you get your 730 00:26:47,265 --> 00:26:49,904 podcast to catch future segments of the Sunshine 731 00:26:49,904 --> 00:26:50,884 Gardening podcast. 732 00:26:51,509 --> 00:26:54,309 Gardeners keep on digging and learning more about 733 00:26:54,309 --> 00:26:57,029 gardening so the sun shines brighter over your 734 00:26:57,029 --> 00:27:00,789 Kentucky garden. The Sunshine Gardening podcast with Kristen 735 00:27:00,789 --> 00:27:03,509 Hildebrand is a production of the University of 736 00:27:03,509 --> 00:27:05,769 Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service.