As their common name clearly describes, the wasps are the nemesis of cicadas. It's no accident that the emergence of dog day cicadas means the huge wasps will soon be making low-level flights over poorly managed lawns, golf course sand traps, and sand volleyball courts. Cicada killers range in size from 1 1/8-1 5/8" long. Their black bodies are marked with yellow to white patches on the first three abdominal segments. The head, thorax and legs are rusty red and the wings russet-yellow. As with all hymenoptera (wasps, bees, etc.), only the females possess stingers (ovipositors); however, they are not aggressive.

Tomato and tobacco hornworm caterpillars are the larvae of hawk or sphinx moths. Indeed, tomato hornworms eventually grow up to become the 5-Spotted Hawkmoth; the "quinque" in the specific epithet refers to the five spots on the moth. The caterpillars are called "hornworms" because of the prominent horn-like projection rising from the upper surface at the end of their abdomen. They can grow to a truly impressive size of 4" in length and 1/2-5/8" in diameter. However, despite their size, these cleverly camouflaged caterpillars may go undiscovered for weeks owing that to their coloration and white markings. Both hornworms have white diagonal lines along their sides. The tobacco hornworms have a series of white diagonal lines while the lines on tomato hornworms appear as a series of white sideway "V's".

The caterpillars can be controlled through hand-picking; however, both caterpillars are also subject to the depredations of several predators and parasitoids. Paper wasps, yellow jackets, and other wasps will grab them, chew them up, and take the remains to their nests to feed their larvae. The tiny parasitoid wasp, Cotesia congregata (Family Braconidae) inserts its eggs into the caterpillars and the resulting wasp larvae consume the hornworms from the inside out. Just before the hornworms die, the full grown wasp larvae erupt through the upper epidermis to form oval, white, silk pupal cases. Rows of these white cocoons sprouting from tobacco and tomato hornworms are a well-known and a welcomed sight to home gardeners. Of course, the parasitized caterpillars should be left alone. They will do little to no feeding, and the wasp cocoons represent the potential future demise of numerous other hornworms

The shiny black to brownish-black weevil is a little over 1/4" long which includes the exceptionally long, curved snout. As with all weevils, this beetle's mouthparts are located at the end of their snout. The females insert their snouts into the flower stems to chew a ring of holes around the stem about 1-1 1/2" below the flower head. The flower stem is not completely cut; the damaged stem just breaks-over causing the flower head to hang from a thin strand of stem tissue.

Females move into the dangling flower head to feed on pollen, mate with males, and lay eggs. Eventually the flower head breaks from the stem and drops to the ground. Heavily de-flowered coneflower plantings look like a collection of soda straws. The eggs hatch once the flower heads drop to the ground and the weevil's grub-like larvae feed on the decaying flower head tissue. It is speculated that the female weevil's odd head-clipping behavior prevents other insects from competing with their off-spring in utilizing the flower head. Mature weevil larvae leave the flower heads and crawl into the soil to spend the winter. Pupation occurs the following spring to early summer and adults appear sometime in July. There is one generation per year.

The best method for controlling this weevil is to remove and destroy the dangling flower heads. This will prevent weevil larvae from completing their development. If the flower heads are removed gently to avoid disturbing the hidden adults, the heads can be dropped into a bucket of soapy water to kill the adults and reduce the weevil population. Insecticides are not a good option. First, there are no insecticides labeled for flowering landscape plants that include this weevil on the label. Second, since coneflowers attract a wide array of important pollinators, insecticide applications could potentially cause collateral damage to these "good bugs."