What Insects Eat the Cicada Bug?
- Cicada-killer wasps (Sphecius speciosus) have a beneficial relationship with humans, who they rarely sting, because they feed upon pesky cicada bugs. In the summer, the female digs out underground cells from the ground. She then hunts cicadas, which she paralyzes by stinging, and drags the cicada to the burrow, where she implants an egg into the bug. The egg hatches into a larva, which uses the cicada meat for energy. When identifying cicada-killer wasps, look for the following: a relatively large body (over 1.5 inches long); ruddy thorax, head, wings and legs; and a black abdomen with yellow spots like those of a yellow jacket.
- The bald-faced hornet is a medium-sized wasp with black and white bodies, including the antennae, and dark brown wings. Bald-faced hornet workers kill cicadas with their stings, then use the meat from chewed-up cicadas to feed larvae. Unlike cicada killer wasps, bald-faced hornets build large nests, containing as many as 700 wasps. These nests center around a queen, who produces children while male and female workers provide for the welfare of the nest and its larvae and collect food for the hive. Unlike cicada-killer wasps, bald-faced hornets can become rather aggressive when threatened.
- Ants do not necessarily hunt cicadas, but they do feed on the cicada carcasses from predation or natural death. The type of ants that feed on cicadas depend on the region. The relationship between cicadas and ants is not restricted to diet: Jean de la Fontaine penned a fable called "The Cicada and the Ant" which contrasts a joyous, yet irresponsible cicada, with a miserly and sarcastic ant. With no food for winter, the cicada asks the ant for a food loan. The ant asks the cicada what it did during the summer. The cicada responds by saying that she sang all summer long. The ant then refuses to give the cicada food, and suggests dancing through the winter.
- Like June bugs, cicadas molt when they mature.Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
Some forms of beetles, such as cedar beetles, feed on cicada nymphs, the stage between egg and adult. Although these beetles vary in appearance, one kind (the Sandalus niger), found throughout central United States, is recognizable by its rusty fan antennae and orange wings. When feeding the larvae, cedar beetles use the meat of cicada nymphs to feed upon until the beetle develops into the adult stage, at which point it feeds upon cedar trees.
