Cicada Killer

Sphecius speciosus (Drury 1773)

Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Sphecius speciosus (Cicada Killer) is a species of Hymenoptera in the family crabronid wasps. They are native to The Nearctic and the Palearctic. They visit flowers of Rhus copallinum, button eryngo, Queen Anne's lace, and wild parsnip. They are solitary, diurnal carnivores. Individuals can grow to 50 mm. They have parental care (female provides care). They rely on flight to move around.

URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q106447
Definition: largest of the eight ecozones constituting the Earth's surface
Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palearctic.png

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URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q81875
Definition: organism that eats mostly or exclusively animal tissue
Attribution: Crustacean body sizes

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/solitary
Definition: Solitary animals are those that spend a majority of their lives without others of their species, with possible exceptions for mating and raising their young. Antonyms for a solitary animal include a social animal or a colonial animal.
Attribution: https://www.definitions.net/definition/solitary+animal

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URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q906470
Definition: animal behavior characterized by activity during the day, with a period of inactivity at night.

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URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/parentalCareFemale
Definition: the female feeds and nurtures offspring
Attribution: Richard M. Sibly, Christopher C. Witt, Natalie A. Wright, Chris Venditti, Walter Jetz, and James H. Brown. 2012. Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds. PNAS 109(27):10937-10941, doi:10.1073/pnas.1206512109

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URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/NBO_0000367
Definition: self-propelled movement of an organism from one location to another through the air, usually by means of active wing movement

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EOL has data for 24 attributes, including:

Body symmetry
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/body_symmetry
- Definition: overall repetitive or reflective pattern in the body of one individual of this taxon. eg: bilateral symmetry, rotational symmetry, radial symmetry
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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body length
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CMO_0000013
- Definition: A measurement of the longest dimension of a body, typically between two distinct ends of the body.
- Attribution: [database_cross_reference: Dorland:Dorlands_Illustrated_Medical_Dictionary--31st_Ed] [database_cross_reference: ISBN:978-1416049982]
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50 mm
body shape
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/BodyShape
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bilaterally symmetric
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/PATO_0001324
- Definition: being symmetric about a plane running from frontal end to caudal end (head to tail), and having nearly identical right and left halves
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developmental mode
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/DevelopmentalMode
- Definition: Broad recognized categories describing development, the process by which organisms grow and mature
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holometabolous
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/holometabolous
- Definition: Development of insects with complete metamorphosis which involves a pupal stage.
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diet includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Diet
- Definition: Information about the items eaten by this organism.
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insects
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1390
- Definition: a class of mainly terrestrial arthropods
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ecomorphological guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/EcomorphologicalGuild
- Definition: organisms that share certain morphological traits due to adaptation to similar environments and ecological roles
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fossorial
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2850019
- Definition: organism that is adapted to digging and life underground.
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geographic distribution includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/Present
- Definition: This organism is known to be present in this location or region. Not exclusive; other regions may also be reported.
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United States
- URI: http://www.geonames.org/6252001
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mating system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/MatingSystem
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polygynous
- URI: http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/ECOCORE_00000065
- Definition: One male has an exclusive mating relationship with two or more females
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native range includes
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/NativeRange
- Definition: Lists jurisdictions in which a given organism is a member of the undisturbed fauna or flora.
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The Nearctic
- URI: https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q737742
- Definition: one of the eight terrestrial ecozones constituting the Earth's land surface
- Attribution: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ecozone_Nearctic.svg
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social system
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/SocialSystem
- Definition: Description of the relationships among individuals within a population of organisms, including reproductive relationships (mating system), relationships within each sex, adult – young interactions, helpers and cooperation (group living).
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solitary
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/solitary
- Definition: Solitary animals are those that spend a majority of their lives without others of their species, with possible exceptions for mating and raising their young. Antonyms for a solitary animal include a social animal or a colonial animal.
- Attribution: https://www.definitions.net/definition/solitary+animal
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trophic guild
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/TrophicGuild
- Definition: A group of species that exploit the same food resources, and/or use the same feeding or foraging methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guild_(ecology)
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nectarivore
- URI: http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q120880
- Definition: organism that consumes sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants
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type specimen repository
- URI: http://eol.org/schema/terms/TypeSpecimenRepository
- Definition: The institution that holds a type specimen for a given species. The recommended best practice is to use the identifier in a collections registry such as the Biodiversity Collections Index (http://www.biodiversitycollectionsindex.org/).
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NHMUK

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of cicada killer. View this species on GBIF

Tanya Dewey, Animal Diversity Web cc-by-nc-sa-3.0