What the heck is this thing?

[RustyRed]

I found a dead bug in the drive way last week that looked like a huge wasp basically. Buddy of mine that lives across town found one in his yard as well about a week back.

Today I got home from Aikido and had a live one in the yard that was digging in the dirt on the edge of the side walk. I nailed it with wasp spray and killed the sucker dead. Thinking of calling my exterminator and asking him what the heck this thing is exactly.

Here's a picture my buddy took of the one he found dead. Anybody have any idea what it is? A large wasp?

Looks like it would knock you down if it decided to sting you.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Brown hornet. And yes, they hurt.

 

[Sacbill]

If you found it crawling around on a mound of dirt, then you might have what's called a Cicada Killer. They are wasp-like and do just what the name implies. There's usually one per hole and it kills cicadas and feeds them to the young in the nest. I had them when I lived in MD. The local extension service told me they were not agressive unless attacked; I noticed they used to just fly around lazily and were more apt to bump into me than anything else.

I wound up getting rid of them because of the piles of dirt they were excavating up onto my lawn. I used liquid sevin (don't know if you can still get that in your area). Just go out at night when they're asleep, pour into the hole, cover with the dirt, then pour more on the dirt. (By the way, this also works for getting rid of bees nests in your yard.)

Like I say, I don't know if that's what you found, but it could be. Here's a link about them. By the way, they're actually considered beneficial. So, if you can live with them, you could just let them be.

 

[TB350]

We have those in PA too. kip

 

[d_ford]

Yep, looks like a cicada wasp to me. Folks around here also call them sand hornets. Big suckers.

 

[Flysure1]

I have had them on and off around here also, they are hard to ignore cause of their size! I have never been stung by one either.