00:00The eastern cicada killer wasp is back and if you're hanging around outside they're most likely
00:05one of the largest wasps you'll see all year round. When you begin to hear the annual cicada
00:12singing which is usually going to be in mid-June, hey that's when you're going to start to see the
00:19male cicada killer wasp. Now their life is short, their one mission is to find a female and mate,
00:25then they're going to be gone. However the female cicada killers will be active for several months
00:31so anywhere from late June, July, August, maybe even in September. It's the females that are using
00:38their stingers to hunt cicadas. They'll paralyze one mid-air then haul it back to their underground
00:43burrow. The males spend their days guarding territory and looking for mates and they don't have stingers
00:49at all. So while they may dive bomb or hover near humans they pose no real threat. In general
00:55these cicada killer wasps do not bite, they do not sting human beings. And if you think you might
01:03have some nearby, small holes in the ground and piles of soil will be your telltale signs. If you
01:09don't want them nesting in your yard, experts say it's open dry lawns that are prime real estate for
01:15burrows. Perhaps a wetter soil or denser cover of vegetation or grass would perhaps limit the ability
01:24or the desire of those cicada killers to nest in that site. Again, while these scary insects can sting,
01:32they rarely do unless physically provoked. So unless you're a cicada, don't stress.
01:37For AccuWeather, I'm Allie Reed.
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