The house we bought last year "came with" cicada killer wasps[0]. They are impressive insects. The ones show in the Wikipedia article are a little smaller than

The house we bought last year "came with" cicada killer wasps[0]. They are impressive insects. The ones show in the Wikipedia article are a little smaller than the ones we have! I'd never heard of these things before getting this house. They are somewhat destructive in their nesting. We ended up having to kill a few when they were excavating the bedding sand between the flagstones surrounding the house. They could dig out a pile of sand standing 4 - 5 inches tall in about 30 minutes (leaving a hole about an inch in diameter right in the middle of the pile). They don't sting and are scared of humans. When they're unladen they fly very quickly and are quite agile. When they're laden with a cicada they bumble through the air in a most amusing way. They are also persistent-as-heck when it comes to their nesting behavior. I wish I could do something like this wasp blower to gently suggest these guys nest in the yard instead of between the flagstones. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphecius_speciosus