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Common Name: Cicada killer wasp
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Sphecidae
Photo Credit: John Obermeyer, Purdue University
Pest Status: Cicada killer wasps appear menacing, but they rarely
ever sting people and should be considered a beneficial insect
because they kill cicadas.
Appearance: The cicada killer wasp is large (approximately 1½
inches long) with a black body marked with yellow across the thorax
and on the first three abdominal segments. The head and thorax
are red and the wings are yellow.
Life Cycle: Cicada killer wasps dig burrows in sandy, bare,
well-drained soil. They paralyze and drag a cicada into the hole
upon which they lay their eggs. After hatching, the larvae feed on
the cicada carcass inside the hole. Adult wasps emerge throughout
the summer months.
Where to Collect: Cicada killers can be collected near where they
nest in the ground.
Common Name: Click beetle
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Elateridae
Pest Status: Click beetles are sometimes pests when the immatures
(wireworms) eat the roots and tubers of plants.
Appearance: Click beetles are flattened, elongated, brown beetles
that are about ½-inch long. They usually have distinctive
backward-projecting points on the side corners of the pronotum.
Life Cycle: Adults and larvae overwinter in the ground,
becoming active in the spring. Females dig burrows and lay their
eggs around the bases of host plants. The eggs hatch within a few
weeks and larvae develop through several molts over a few months.
They pupate in the cells within the soil in late summer or fall and
emerge as adults a few weeks later.
Where to Collect: Since adults are nocturnal, click beetles can be
found congregating around lights at night.
Photo Credit: John Obermeyer, Purdue University
Common Name: Clover leaf weevil
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Curculionidae
Pest Status: Clover leaf weevils can damage alfalfa in much the
same way as alfalfa weevil.
Appearance: Adults are brown with yellow scales, giving them a
mottled appearance. They are up to four times larger than alfalfa
weevils and lack any distinctive stripe down the back.
Life Cycle: Females lay their eggs in stems or stalks of host plants
in late summer/early fall. The larvae hatch in the fall and spend the
winter in the soil.
Where to Collect: Clover leaf weevils can be found in the crowns
of plants or on host plant leaves.
Photo Credit: John Obermeyer, Purdue University