A Bad Day for a Cicada

Early August is high time for cicadas--numerous species are in the trees singing with abandon every day from early morning until dusk.  Cicadas in distress have a non-melodic buzzing that is very noticeable.  Usually when I hear it, it means a cicada is trying to escape a bird.  Recently, I heard it nearby and low--on the ground.  It turned out the cicada was being stung by a wasp.  The wasp's markings don't match those of the cicada killer.  Someone later suggested that it was a European hornet, and that seems to fit.  The European hornet is an insect feeder, so the cicada still met a very bad end.  Early August is, according to one study, prime time for cicada mortality at the hands of cicada killers (though I don't know if it'd be earlier or later in Georgia vs. West Virginia).  I did know someone who lived in a neighborhood with a lot of them, and they were very apparent in August, flying low over the grass.

It's also prime time for spiders.  There are a few large types in Georgia; one that I'm seeing a lot of right now are argiopes; last year I saw one near where this one was located.  This year there are four, probably descendants of last year's spider.  One has an egg sac in a pretty exposed location.

The day after I shot the one hornet dispatching the cicada, I saw another one robbing the web of one of the spiders.  This is mentioned in the Wikipedia entry for the hornet...the spider did not react while this all was going on.  I apologize for the poor focus; it was shot with my phone and with the full sun it was hard to see the screen.  I also didn't want to get all that close.

Obviously, there's a nest somewhere nearby.