The Cicada Killer's Story

I wonder what it feels like to be a cicada killer.... Lions are feared, yet we love and respect them. Mama bears are admired even though we are afraid of them and (hopefully) stay far away if we meet one while hiking in the woods. But the female cicada killer, perhaps the most awe-inspiring huntress on the planet, is also perhaps the most hated, misunderstood, and feared. She has a story, she has a valuable and essential role to play especially in this cicada-infested year, and she deserves a little more honor and respect.

She emerges from an underground tunnel, like some scary-tale monster. I can just imagine you playing in your mind the music from some terrible old black-and-white horror movie. But in fact, she's just as tired of being cooped up during a long winter as you probably are in the spring. She's entering the world of light and warmth and the beauty of new spring-time life for the first time. Perhaps she’s optimistic and full of hope, perhaps fearful, maybe just a little overwhelmed. She's hungry and alone, and has to make her own way in the world. She has to endure the frustrating process of finding a mate who only wants her for three seconds, and then she's back on her own again. Turns out she has a sweet tooth and drinks up flower nectar like any other type of bee. Not so scary now? Maybe just a tad bit relatable?

Then she goes on the hunt. Have you heard the cicadas yet this year? Are there hordes of them emerging in a backyard near you? Have they shown up on the weather radar map in your area? If so, you know the mind numbing sound, the incessant whining buzz that won't let you get a thought in edgewise when all you want is a peaceful stroll through the neighborhood. Then maybe you already know that the cicada killer is your friend. She starts by digging their grave, and then she hunts them down, one by one, like a masked vigilante of justice. She carries them into her deep and dark tunnels, never to be seen or heard from again. She stings and stuns them, sending them into a long, enchanted sleep. But no prince is coming for them to rescue or wake them up with a kiss. (Who would ever kiss a cicada anyway?) Instead, hungry cicada killer brood will devour them in their sleep, gaining the energy to make it through the winter and emerge next spring as the cycle of life continues. Terrifying? For the cicadas yes, but it is just a way of life for young cicada-killers who depend on this food source for their survival.

And for all the fear and suspicion that the cicada killer is regarded with by the humans who might stumble upon her, she is surprisingly gentle. She has no inclination to sting anything other than cicadas. She is single-minded, dedicated, and an expert in her deadly work. She only wants to go about her business in peace. You could say she is just a single mother working hard to put food on the table and prepare a good life for her children.

I felt privileged to see her in my yard and have the opportunity to snap a picture of her. You are privileged too if a cicada killer shows up in your yard. Please don't assault her with a can of insecticide. For that matter, please don't spray poison on the cicadas either. I invite you to let nature run its course and come back into balance as it always seeks to do. I don't actually know what it feels like to be a cicada killer - that's her story, not mine - but I know she deserves a chance to live as nature designed her.

(If you are curious about cicada killers please visit the following links that I used as research for this post: http://entoweb.okstate.edu/ddd/insects/cicadakiller.htm https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/06/07/cicada-mayfly-dc-radar/ )