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Hi everyone!
I am loving home-ownership here in Charlotte, but I am finding that other creatures also love to call my place (or, more specifically, my back yard) "home".
So, we have a book about Southern lawns, and realized that we have some Japanese Beetles back there (which are big and scary---those of you that have seen my other posts know my irrational fear of bugs, and my strange tendency not to be afraid of other things, like the cute 4-inch spotted leopard slugs we also have in our yard). Anyway, I'm getting off topic. What I'm really here to ask is what this other bug might be, that is not listed in my book. It doesn't look like a Japanese Beetle--it is much longer, almost like a super-sized dragonfly, but thicker, and kind of reddish-brown colored.
Are there cicadas around here now? Could it be that? It looks thick like a carpenter bee, but reddish-brown, and much longer w/long sideways wings like a dragonfly. Sorry I didn't get a picture--I was too busy freaking out and running inside! I looked at some pictures online (which is very stressful for me! yuck!), but it's hard to tell what bugs look like when they're flying around--I didn't stick around to wait for this monster-sized bug to stop and land).
I'd love it if anyone has any ideas about what it might be and what it's purpose is (like, the Japanese Beetles and Spotted Leopard Slugs have the purpose of ruining my lawn, while dragonflies just hang out and don't seem to make any trouble). Thanks so much!
A picture would be helpful but from your description, I'll guess that it might be Cicada Killer Wasps. There is another thread re: them. They fly around chasing each other, usually about knee high or so most of the time. They are solitary wasp and nest in the ground. The female can sting but they aren't aggressive at all. Maybe look it up on a search engine and see if the picture is what you're seeing at your place.
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