Cicada killer bibliography
Introduction
What follows is a partially annotated bibliography of scientific literature referring to cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus Drury and S. grandis). It is intended as a source for those interested in cicada killer biology. The research spans a time period of over one hundred years and covers topics ranging from basic natural history to molecular biology. The list may not be comprehensive, and some sources are not annotated because I have not yet obtained them. If you know of a relevant reference that is not on this list, or find a significant error here, please Email me at Astrea@astreasworld.co.uk The current total number of references listed is: 57
References
Alcock, J. 1975. The behaviour of western cicada killer males, Sphecius grandis (Sphecidae, Hymenoptera). J. Nat. Hist. 9:561-566.
A comparison of male behavior between the western species (Sphecius grandis) and the eastern one.
Arnett, R.H. and R.L. Jacques, Jr. 1981. Simon & Schuster's guide to insects. Simon & Schuster, New York, 511 pp.
Normally, a field guide would not be included here, but this one is notable for its errors. The entry claims that cicada killers are known for their painful sting, and the wasp in the photo provided has unusual colors (faded museum specimen?).
Balduf, W.V. 1941. Take offs by prey-laden wasps (Hymen.: Pompilidae, Sphecidae). Entomological News 52:91-92.
Contains an incredible account of a loaded female crawling up the author's body and taking off from the top of his head.
Berenbaum, M.R. 1989. Ninety-nine gnats, nits and nibblers. University of Illinois Press, Urbana. 254 pp.
A brief, entertaining summary of the life of female cicada killers is found on pages 143-144, although a few minor inaccuracies are present.
Bringer, S.L. 1996. Effects of envenomation by cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus) on longevity and physiology of annual cicadas (Tibicen spp.). M.S. Thesis, Western Illinois University.
Stung cicadas live longer than unstung controls, apparently because of lower rates of water loss, not metabolism.
Casteels, P., J. Romagnolo, M. Castle, K. Casteels-Josson, H. Erdjument-Bromage, and P. Tempst. 1994. Biodiversity of apidaecin-type peptide antibiotics. Journal of Biological Chemistry 269:26107-26115.
Cicada killers injected with bacteria "produced a massive quantity of apidaecin (two different isoforms) but no significant levels of any other peptides."
Champlain, A.B. 1929. Hunters of the treetops wherein the Cicada-killers do their stuff. Nature Magazine 14:176 (September).
Coelho, J.R. 2002. Spurred on to greater depths. 111(6): 20-22
A popularized treatment of the Coelho and Wiedman (1999) paper below.
Coelho, J.R. 2000. Behavioral and physiological thermoregulation in male cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus) during territorial behavior. Journal of Thermal Biology 26(2):109-116. | (PDF) available free at JTB
Coelho, J. R. 1998. An acoustical and physiological analysis of buzzing in cicada killer wasps (Sphecius speciosus). Journal of Comparative Physiology A 183 (6): 745-751.
Coelho, J.R. 1997. Sexual size dimorphism and flight behavior in cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus). Oikos 79:371-375.
Coelho, J.R. and C.W. Holliday. 2000. Effects of size and flight performance on intermale mate competition in the cicada killer, Sphecius speciosus Drury (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Journal of Insect Behavior 14(3):345-351.
Coelho, J. R. and K. Wiedman. 1999. Functional morphology of the hind tibial spurs of the cicada killer (Sphecius speciosus Drury). Journal of Hymenoptera Research 8(1):6-Dambach, C.A. and E. Good 1943. Life history and habits of the cicada killer in Ohio. The Ohio Journal of Science 43:32-41.
Covers virtually all aspects of cicada killer natural history. An essential primer.
Davis, W.T. 1891. Notes of habits of the larger digger wasp. Canadian Entomologist pp. 10-11 (January).
Davis, W.T. 1920. Mating habits of Sphecius speciosus, the cicada-killing wasp. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 15:128-129.
Davis, W.T. 1924. Cicada killing wasps and flies. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 32:113.
Denton, S.B. 1931. Habits of the cicada-killer. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 26:35.
Dow, R. 1942. The relation of the prey of Sphecius speciosus to the size and sex of the adult wasp (Hym.: Sphecidae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America 35:310-317.
Two cicadas are used to provision a female larva, one for a male. This pattern is apparently the proximate cause of sexual size dimorphism, females being about twice the size of males.
Eason, P.K., G.A. Cobbs, & K.G.Trinca. 1999. The use of landmarks to define territorial boundaries. Animal Behaviour 58: 85-91.
The presence of structures in the environment facilitates the formation of territorial boundaries, minimizes agonistic encounters between males, and lowers the cost of territorial defense.
Evans, H. E. 1966. The evolution of prey-carrying mechanisms in wasps. Evolution 16:468-483.
Contains a brief discussion of pedal prey carriage and function of hind tibial spurs in females.
Evans, H. E. 1966. The comparative ethology and evolution of the sand wasps. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass.
A thorough review of cicada killer biology is included.
Evans, H.E. and M.J. West Eberhard. 1970. The wasps. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Brief mention of Sphecius in comparison with other wasps, such as in digging behavior.
Felt, E.P. 1906. Notes on the cicada-killer. New York State Museum Memoir 8:603.
Hastings, J. 1986. Provisioning by female western cicada killer wasps, Sphecius grandis (Hymenoptera:Sphecidae): influence of body size and emergence time on individual provisioning success. Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 59:262-268.
Larger females are more successful foragers.
Hastings, J. 1989. The influence of size, age, and residency status on territory defense in male western cicada killer wasps (Sphecius grandis, Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 62:363-373.
Larger males have greater ability to hold territories and presumably greater mating success.
Hastings, J. 1989. Protandry in western cicada killer wasps, (Sphecius grandis, Hymenoptera:Sphecidae): an empirical study of emergence time and mating opportunity. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 25:255-260.
Males emerge before females, but both have remarkably short lifespans.
Howes, P.G. 1919. Insect behavior. Gorham Press, Boston. 176 pp.
Contains a brief discussion of the function of hind tibial spurs for prey carriage in females.
Joos, B., and T.M. Casey. 1992. Flight energetics of the cicada killer wasp. American Zoologist 32:54A [abstract].
Provides data on oxygen consumption and wingbeat frequency in hovering flight.
Levetter, K.J., A.K. Majumdar and C.W. Holliday. 1994. The ecology of the cicada-killer wasp, Sphecius speciosus. In: R.D. Yearout (ed) Proceedings of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research VIII. The University of North Carolina, Asheville, pp.933-937.
Describes attempts to rear cicada killers in the laboratory. Females spend the night in their burrows and do not leave until the sun shines upon them in the morning.
Lin, N. 1963. Observations of suspected density dependent fighting between females of the cicada killer wasp Sphecius speciosus. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 58: 121-123.
Lin, N. 1963. Territorial behaviour in the cicada killer wasp, Sphecius speciosus (Drury)(Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). I. Behaviour 20:115-133.
Lin, N. 1964. Weather and the natural regulation of three populations of the cicada killer wasp. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Kansas, Lawrence.
This thesis, as far as I know, is difficult or impossible to get without travelling to Lawrence.
Lin, N. 1966. Copulatory behavior of the cicada killer wasp, Sphecius speciosus. Animal Behavior 14:130-131.
Detailed description of mating based on 61 observed copulations.
Lin, N. 1967. Role differentiation in copulating cicada killer wasps. Science 1334-1335.
Describes the functional roles of males and female during copulation.
Lin, N. 1979. Differential prey selection for the sex of offspring in the cicada killer Sphecius speciosus (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 81:269-275.
A reexamination of data from Dow (1942) and Dambach and Good (1943) which shows that females know in advance the sex of the egg they will lay.
Lin, N. 1979. The weight of cicada killer wasps Sphecius speciosus and the weight of their prey. Journal of the Washington Academy of Science Vol. 68.
Lin, N. and Michener, C. D. 1972. Evolution of sociality in insects. The Quarterly Review of Biology 47:131-159
Suggests that the early beginnings of sociality may be present in nest aggregations
Manee, A.H. 1915. Notes on cicada-killer. Entomological News 26:266.
Marlatt, C.L. 1907. The larger digger wasp. U.S. Bulletin of the Bureau of Entomology 71:132.
Packard, A.S. Description of Sphecius speciosus. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia 6:442. [year unknown, must be prior to 1943]
Pfennig, D.W. and H.K. Reeve. 1989. Neighbor recognition and context-dependent aggression in a solitary wasp, Sphecius speciosus (Hymenoptera:Sphecidae). Ethology 80:1-18.
Larger females tend to win burrow disputes, but there is a resident advantage as well. Females are less tolerant of intrusion when there is an exposed cicada in the burrow and when the intruder is smaller. Females are more tolerant of their near neighbors than they are of females from more distant burrows.
Pfennig, D.W. and H.K. Reeve. 1993. Nepotism in a solitary wasp as revealed by DNA fingerprinting. Evolution 47:700-704.
Neighboring females are related, thus providing a kin selection argument for the greater tolerance to burrow intrusion.
Rau, P. and N. Rau. 1918. Wasp studies afield. Princeton University Press, Princeton. 372 pp.
Contains a brief, anecdotal account of an encounter with cicada killers foraging on sap of sunflowers.
Riley, C.V. 1892. The larger digger wasp. Insect Life 4:248-252.
This is a classic paper by the grandfather of American entomology documenting numerous aspects of cicada killer biology, including drawings of burrow structure and of the pupae. Most of the information is still considered to be correct.
Ross, K.G. and R.W. Mathews. 1991. The social biology of wasps. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.
Salt, G.L. and C.W. Holliday. 1992. The ecology of the cicada-killer wasp, Sphecius speciosus. In: R.D. Yearout (ed) Proceedings of the National Conference on Undergraduate Research VI, Volume III. The University of North Carolina, Asheville, pp.1399-1404.
Describes male territorial behavior, mating. Suggests the presence of a mating pheromone and for outcrossing--females rarely return to their natal nesting aggregation.
Savin, W.M. 1923. A wasp that hunts cicadas. Natural History 23:569-575.
Schmidt, J.O. 1990. Hymenoptera venoms: striving toward the ultimate defense against vertebrates. In: D.L. Evans and J.O. Schmidt (eds) Insect defenses: Adaptive mechanisms and strategies of prey and predators. SUNY Press, Albany, pp. 387-419.
Contains LD50 of cicada killer venom to mice (not very lethal) as well as other Hymenopteran venoms.
Smith, F.F. 1925. Note on damage to formal garden by cicada-killer. Journal of Economic Entomology 18:836.
Smith, J.B. 1901. Notes on some digger wasps. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 9:29-40, 52-72.
Tashiro, H. 1987. Turfgrass insects of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 391 pp.
Teale, E.W. 1962. The strange lives of familiar insects. Dodd, Mead & Company, New York. 208 pp.
Chapter 12 is "The life of the cicada-killer wasp," a popular, well written account of the life cycle of the animal, without too many misconceptions in it.
Trinca, K.G. and P.K. Eason. 1994. The use of visual landmarks as territorial boundaries by the cicada killer wasp. American Zoologist 34:63A [Abstract].
The presence of structures in the environment facilitates the formation of territorial boundaries, minimizing agonistic encounters between males. Full paper is Eason et al. (1999) above.
Weaver, J.E. 1995. Life history, habits, and control of the cicada killer wasp in West Virginia. Circular 161, March 1995, Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, West Virginia University, 14 pp.
Tests various insecticides and application methods (best is spraying into burrow) for control of cicada killers on golf courses. Reprint can be obtained by writing to the station at PO Box 6108, Morgantown WV 26506-6108.
Wiedman, K.A. 1997. The function of spurs on the hind legs of cicada killers (Sphecius speciosus). Honors Thesis, Department of Biological Sciences, Western Illinois University, 11 pp.
Hind tibial spurs act as one-way flaps that apparently function to aid in movement of soil during burrow excavation.
Zim, H. S. and Cottam, C. 1956. Insects: a guide to familiar American insects. Golden Press, New York.
Although a children's field guide, this thin book's entry on cicada killers contains the only published range map of the eastern species.
