Loves Park Man Asks, ‘Is This A Murder Hornet?!’

This might lead to nightmares. A guy in Loves Park shared a photo or a bee(?) or wasp(?) that made my skin crawl and stomach turn. He seemed to be concerned about what the heck this ... thing... is.

Anyone else in the Rockford area seen a murder hornet? At least I think that’s what this is...?

After seeing Chris Wachowiak's photo, and knowing they exist in the area, I won't be sleeping tonight.

Chris isn't the only person to have spotted these living nightmares. Some of his friends shared their photos of them as well.

Thanks, Angela. Now it's official... I'm not sleeping for a few nights.

So what are these terrifying things? They're not Asian Murder Hornets, they are Cicada Killers. They range from a half-inch to two inches in size. As if their name and appearance ease the mind, right? Don't sweat it too much, apparently, they don't really care about you and me. American Pests says these creatures are commonly known as 'gentle giants.' Yeah, OK.

Female cicada killer wasps have large stingers, and their sting can be very painful, but they rarely sting humans.

I don't care how "gentle" they are, I don't want anything to do with them. Go kill the cicadas and stay far from me or else I'm busting out a giant can of RAID.

JB Love is ½ of  Q98.5's Lil Zim & JB In The Morning, weekday mornings from 5:00 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.