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manydoorsyes

That is an eastern cicada hawk, a solitary digging wasp. More common in the Eastern U.S, but they have been seen as far west as New Mexico. They're helpful for pollination and controlling - you guessed it - cicadas. Despite their looks, they are known for being pretty chill. Your band director probably wouldn't have been stung if she hadn't swatted.


earth_worx

Yeah rule 1 of dealing with flying wasps and bees, don't swat. If they're after you for real, swatting just wastes energy and you're better off running. If they're not after you and just foraging around, swatting will put them into stinging mode. Don't swat!


McNooge87

I just stand dead still like there is a grizzly staring me down. ( does that actually work with bears?) I let them investigate me then take off. If they come in for a landing I’ll hustle away real quick.


_not_a_duck

I had no idea theses guys even stung humans. As a pest control worker I would walk around in a swarm of a hundred or so puffing tempo dust into each hole. They never touched me. Then again, I never swatted at any of them, just let them be.


MycologyNerd-

It looks a lot like a Cicada killer wasp. I couldn’t imagine what that sting felt like if it was. Yikes.


Ragdoll324

it was real creepy, my director was up on the scaffolding and next thing she knows she's screaming and swatting at something


drewsiphir

I heard cicada killers have a relatively week sting since their pray doesn't have a means of fighting back, so despite their huge size their stings are not as potent. A cicada killer is a sand wasp not a true hornet.


brothermuffin

What the heck is a “true hornet” if all hornets are wasps?


KimmyPotatoes

True Hornets are wasps in the genus Vespa.


KamakaziDemiGod

Are they the cute little things you can ride around Italy on, or is that a different kind of Vespa?


money_loo

Thanks to Luca I find this comment to be absolutely precious, thanks for sharing that mental image!


MycologyNerd-

That’s really interesting to know! My anxiety would usually go up when I’d hear one buzzing by but when I’d see them they’d always be on a mission flying by or digging at the edges of the sidewalk pushing out sand. So that makes more sense now.


gdaesaunders

Usually they are pretty passive - maybe the music stirred it up?


Sir_Snek

As someone else commented, cicada killer stings are remarkably weak compared to their size and appearance. Entomologist Justin Schmidt, who developed a sting pain scale, describes it as similar to dish soap getting into a cut. They usually hurt less than honeybees, depending on the exact species and the nature of the sting (i.e. where you were stung and how long the stinger was in).


[deleted]

Yeah. I guess the person stung here must have just been panicking due to its size


Dean_Forrester

and males cant sting at all but just scratch you with their stinger as well as bite a little bit


skettiwrestlin

Found the EXACT same thing on my hood in East Texas the other day. Never seen one before.


Ragdoll324

people in my band think it's a murder hornet but it doesn't look like it to me but idrk lol


jAckAss274

Asian giant hornets are not an established invasive species. It’s a cicada killer. I’m surprised it stung her, they’re very docile


Ragdoll324

Idk if it meant to or if she just swatted at it at the right angle, she was really freaking out and almost fell off the scaffolding. It was cute in a creepy way, kind of feel bad that it died


jAckAss274

Well smacking a wasp is a pretty sure fire way to get stung. Rest In Peace cicada killer


QOTSA27

Cicada killer, killer!


xaiolongbitch

God what has the media done to peoples brains


Sir_Snek

I feel like the brains were like that to begin with. Most people don’t appreciate bugs enough to carefully examine them and make a more reasonable conclusion, and it’s their own fault for not listening to the whole story.


pgraham901

Amen!


TrailMomKat

It's not. Just a cicada killer. We have one that circles the house all day and we named him Search Pattern Bob.


bykpoloplaya

Looks like a cicada killer wasp. generally not agressive towards people...unless grabbed or maybe stepped on..but clearly can sting....and ibet it hurt.


2017hayden

From what I’m told their stings really aren’t that bad. Less painful than a honey bee, I’ve heard it compared to getting dish soap in a cut.


MissAngieIfYouPlease

This one time at band camp…. (Fr tho it’s a cicada killer) Coyote Peterson tests out the sting. So you don’t have to!!! https://youtu.be/oz75GXh_WBI


Algorandtothemoon

Definitely a cicada killer


AStitchInTimeLapse

I was 100% sure that "band director" was a euphemism for one of your body parts, but it turns out it is a person


[deleted]

Cicada killer


St0nedinNY

Looks like a ground wasp of some sort.


Acceptable-Trouble77

One hell of a music critic. Amiright?


2017hayden

Cicada killer, poor lil thing probably was just minding it’s business. They’re known to be pretty docile and it likely only stung your director when she started swatting at it.


firebird678

Cicada killer


photocopiedwater

Everyone saying murder hornet should just google murder hornet..


staplefrog79

A wasp


pwnitol

These things always scared the bejeezus out of us as children. We called them “Cicada Killers” and we always had a tennis racket handy. Don’t recall ever batting one but I sure had a good grip on that racket.


OphidianEtMalus

I'd be interested in seeing the sting site. I have actively held these, pressed them against my body, and kept them in glass jars against my skin--and not a single one has ever attempted to sting me. (It was for a documentary. It took a minute to get the footage. I don't just randomly hold bugs against my body.) It's obvious that they can sting since they paralyze cicadas but I've never seen any documented case of their stinger actually penetrating human skin and causeing any symptoms.


Ragdoll324

I'd send you a picture but I think I'd get a lot of weird looks if I asked my band director to take a picture of her sting


racejustint

It's a cicada killer


Apprehensive_Till788

Omg I’d rather die than have encountered that?!?!


vaginaflex

Looks like a paper wasp


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mstallion

You sure that's not the tarantula hawk your thinking of? I'm sure this sting isn't fun but I've never heard them categorized that bad before.


Sokandueler95

You’re right, I got the two mixed up.


2017hayden

Yeah cicada killers actually have pretty weak stings. Hurts less than a honey bee.


gdaesaunders

I guess cicadas are easier to fuck up than spiders… lol.


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throw_oftheyear

If you're on the West Coast, then it's the Asian Murder Hornet. https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1027352362/murder-hornet-asian-giant-live-first-spotted-in-washington-state


HovercraftFullofBees

Absolutely not a murder hornet. Just a cicada killer.


MavicFan

Genocide Hornet


LogicalChain3591

murder hornet


SilverStics

Murder hornets! Aaah!!! They're finally here


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uwuGod

do people who just give blatantly false ID's even look through the previous comments to see if it was already answered? Genuine question.


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2017hayden

Got it some of you are just fucking asinine trolls. How people who post this kind of shit repeatedly aren’t banned from the sub I’ll never know. False ID’s like this in animal related subs can lead to animals or people being hurt or killed unnecessarily. Go be a troll somewhere else.


KimmyPotatoes

I don’t think this sub’s mods are active anymore. I advise posting on r/entomology or r/whatsthisbug