Some pretty cool wasps have shown up in my driveway! They are very different. First of all, they're HUGE! Next, I've never seen them before! Finally, they're tearing apart the lawn next to my driveway and the expansion joints in my concrete driveway! I needed to know what these things were & find out if I should get rid of them or if they're dangerous to me! (Read below the picture to find out how I used my PROBLEM-SOLVING skills to research a little bit about these new-to-me bugs!) I really want all of my students to use their problem-solving skills and research skills to solve mysteries like this one! I'd like those stories to be shared on their ePortfolios so we can all read about them!
It turns out that they're called: Cicada Killer Wasps & they're so cool (and pretty much harmless)! But they are destroying my driveway by digging between my pieces of concrete! Read this article to learn about these cool insects that I've never seen before!
Article: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/the-cicada-killers-are-coming/277688/
This next article is a shorter version, but not as funny as the one above! It also has some ideas for how to get rid of them if you don't enjoy their company! :(
Article: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/pest/cicada-killers.shtml
It turns out that they're called: Cicada Killer Wasps & they're so cool (and pretty much harmless)! But they are destroying my driveway by digging between my pieces of concrete! Read this article to learn about these cool insects that I've never seen before!
Article: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/07/the-cicada-killers-are-coming/277688/
This next article is a shorter version, but not as funny as the one above! It also has some ideas for how to get rid of them if you don't enjoy their company! :(
Article: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ehs/pest/cicada-killers.shtml
So how did I know what these bugs were? Did I just know about Cicada Killers? Am I just a big, old smarty pants? No! Well, maybe. Actually, I Googled: "insect identification" and the first result was this website:
http://www.insectidentification.org/
When I got there, I saw a form & filled it out like this:
http://www.insectidentification.org/
When I got there, I saw a form & filled it out like this:
It brought up a list of search results. I looked at each picture and found one that looked like the huge bug that I saw in my driveway! It said that it was called a Cicada Killer, and I know that cicadas are around since I hear them ALL THE TIME! I clicked on it and read all about them & I knew it was the right bug!