 The wasps preferentially hunt for female cicadas because they have more consumable tissue, but male cicadas are easier to locate, which explains the systemic bias towards male kills. They chiefly hunt for Tibicen duryi, Tibicen dealbata and Tibicen parallela. Cicada killers are capable of thermoregulation, which allows them to hunt for cicadas during the day, when the cicadas are most prominent. The species is mostly harmless to humans. Some males when emerging early fly into the trees to feed on sap, and the species has been known to feed on nectar.
