More recently, it has been suspected that the western cicada killer represents more than one species. It is one of five species of the genus Sphecius in North America. Its species name is the Latin adjective grandis meaning "large". The western cicada killer was first described by American naturalist Thomas Say in 1824 in Madera Canyon, Arizona, as Stizus grandis. However, they can be distinguished by the density of the punctation on the first and second tergites. Formerly, the two species were distinguished on the basis of the number of tergites with yellow markings (five in S. grandis and three in S. convallis), but a more recent study showed that this character was insufficient to distinguish the two species. Sphecius grandis can be distinguished from S. convallis (the Pacific cicada killer wasp) by the coloration pattern of the gastral tergites. The western cicada killer males emerge earlier than females, but generally die after only a couple of days. S. grandis is endemic to Central America, Mexico and the Western United States, and is found at a higher mean altitude than other species of Sphecius. The females catch around four or more cicadas for provisioning, place them in brood cells and lay eggs in the cells. Wasps in the genus Sphecius are not habitually aggressive and use their venom mainly to paralyse cicadas which they take back to their nests to feed their young. The wasp is on average 3 cm (1 in) to 5 cm (2 in) in length and is amber-yellow with yellow rings on its abdomen. It forms nest aggregations and mates and broods once in a year, in July and early August. S. grandis, like all other species of the genus Sphecius, mainly provides cicadas for its offspring. The western species shares the same nesting biology as its fellow species, the eastern cicada killer ( S. Sphecius grandis, also called the western cicada killer, is a species of cicada killer wasp ( Sphecius).
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