The Cicada Killers Take The Field

To St Olaf Natural Lands. Still a bewildering number of Blue-eyed Darners. Throughout the early part of summer they have been the most numerous species flying over the nearby fields. They seem to fly closer to the ground than our other darners; I'm often looking down at them as they fly by.

In the past I've consistently found one or two sand wasps active on the sand pile near the baseball fields. Today a cloud of wasps enveloped the mound of sand. It looked as though someone had disturbed a hornet's nest, except these were all solitary sand wasps, all emerged at the same time, all vying for the same space, a single heap of sand amid acres of green playing fields. I knelt down at the edge of the sand, enjoying the sound and swirl of wasps. Individuals would drop out of flight for a few seconds, then resume their flight. The concentration of flying wasps thickened and thinned, always just a couple of inches above the sands. A turbulence of wasps. A weather of wasps.

On the nearby practice field, Cicada Killers, around eight or ten males, did what the sand wasps were doing only on a larger scale, chasing about the infield and third base line. I found two active female nests near home plate. I stood around for a while hoping to witness an incoming female with a cicada. After a while, I noticed a wasp struggling to fly about twenty feet away. This turned out to be Cerceris fumipennis carrying a large Buprestid beetle. I watched a little while longer, long enough to realize the Cicada Killers now held dominion of the air space. They chased everything: birds, other Cicada Killers, smaller wasps, and butterflies. And they even chased me as I moved about their space. The Cicada Killers had taken the field.

Walking home, I found several Band-winged Meadowhawks perched on high bare branches on a hilltop, a habit of this species. And further on, a bright red White-faced Meadowhawk, the first mature male meadowhawk of the year.

Posted on July 20, 2017 04:49 AM by scottking