No children will be digging in the sandbox at Poquonnock Plains Park in Groton for a while because of insects called “cicada killers.”
Cicada killers emerge in mid-July to early August and most of the adult insects die by September, according to the Dyce Laboratory for Honey Bee Studies at Cornell University.
Groton’s Parks and Recreation Department recently taped off the area near the sandbox as the insects nest and feast on larva from cicadas.
Jerry Lokken, manager of the recreation department in Groton, said the bees lay eggs in the sand.
For the most part, the insects are rather docile and only look scary. If you stay away from them, they'll stay away from you.
"They're not really a danger to people unless you go up and actively act hostile toward them," Lokken said.
There is little that the parks and recreation department can do. Because the wasps or bees are near where children play, pesticides are not an option.
Lokken said no incidents have been reported and the cicada killers should be gone in about a month.
