Megabug not a cicada killer wasp

Q. What is this giant bee? It is quite frightening!

Bohdan from Canfield

A. We get this insect brought into our office every year. It is nothing to be frightened of, but it is quite large.

It’s a European hornet (Vespa crabro). Lots of gardeners confuse it with the cicada killer wasp (Sphecius speciosus). The visual difference is the yellow bands on its back. The European hornet looks more like a yellow jacket, with the yellow bands going across the entire abdomen. Plus, the coloring is more of a reddish-black tone. The cicada killer wasp has more light yellow to white bands, which do not meet in the middle (on what you might think of as the back of the insect).

The cicada killer wasp feeds on those dog-day cicadas (Tibicen spp.) that you hear singing in the evening this time of year. Most people call the cicadas locusts, but they are indeed cicadas.

Both insects are quite large, thus the fear factor from many homeowners. They are mostly an inch long, sometimes slightly larger. The European hornet feeds on trees and shrubs. My Extension colleagues say they eat dogwood, lilac and viburnums as well as ash, birch, boxwood, horse chestnut and rhododendron. So if you have them, check these plants for damage. These insects can girdle branches, causing the leaves past this point to die and fall from the plant.

You notice these insects more this time of year because there are more of them late in the season. You may notice a paper nest, similar to the bald-faced hornets in the area. Leave the nest be for the rest of the season. Nests will not be reused, so you can destroy it in early winter.

These insects are capable of stinging you multiple times, so it is best to leave them about their work and go on with your own. Our entomologists remind us that the work of hornets will be done for the year in just a few weeks, so no control is recommended. Just admire their handiwork.

To learn more about these hornets, go to: http://go.osu.edu/eurohornet.

Eric Barrett is OSU Ext. educator for agriculture and natural resources in Mahoning County. Call the office hot line at 330-533-5538 from 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and Thursdays to submit your questions.