Missouri Wildlife Biologist Captures Wasp With A 'Killer Smile'

I am not allergic to bee stings or wasp stings, but I must confess, these things scare me. Anything that can sting me, I prefer to stay away from. I won't try to kill them, but keep them away from me. Looks like there is another "wasp" I need to be on the lookout for this summer.

The Missouri Department of Conservation says urban wildlife biologist Erin Shank found the unique wasp while doing a bumblebee survey. It is being called a cicada-killer wasp and it has a unique feature. A smile.

It has a smiley face on it's thorax. It isn't supposed to be too dangerous and not aggressive to people, but I still would like to avoid them, despite it's pleasant appearance. It is large however, at least as far as wasps are concerned.

You can read a bit more about this wasp HERE. There are male and female of this species. Males typically defend territories by simply flying around the nests of one of more females. The males’ energetic hovering can be intimidating. Male cicada killers may clash with other insects, crashing into them bodily, but with people they usually just fly around and inspect us, officials said. Females also cruise around, looking for good places to dig tunnels and searching around trees and shrubs for cicadas.

I do not know if these creatures will make it here to Sedalia, but if they do, and you happen to see one, try and leave them alone. But if you get too close, just don't handle them too harshly and you won't get stung.

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