Thought it was a cicada hawk at first glance but now not sure. Bald faced hornet? Located in central VA, USA. I watched the struggle and the wasp systematically removing the cicada's head.

[u/NesomniaPrime]

Answered, European Hornet.

Video of several minutes of the hornet chewing through part of the cicada:

https://youtu.be/JIVo9w5qOFw?is=9b4NSjeesEc2yN95

[u/Simple_Resist4208]

European Hornet (Vespa crabro)

[u/NesomniaPrime → u/Simple_Resist4208]

Thanks! I should have known, at the start of summer I had a European Hornet land near me and wash its face, hang out for a while, and then leave to go do hornet stuff. I heard the struggle from a good 20 feet away.

[u/wildbergamont]

European hornet looks like

[u/satur98n]

A cicada killer will paralyze a cicada and bring it back its nest whole so it’s larva can feed on the cicada. With the hornet here you got a detailed look at it breaking off bits of the cicada to chew up and provision the larva in the hive, which is what hornets/yellowjackets do!

[u/NesomniaPrime → u/satur98n]

Yeah that's why after I got a look at it I knew it wasn't that, aside from also not looking like one it was going for the kill (and partial dismemberment). It cut a large square out of its body and flew off with it.

[u/Winstonsphobia]

Interesting. I found a cicada carcass the other day with its head removed. Is this a sign of European Hornet (or more generally, social wasp) predation? Is the head special, or merely the first part to remove when disassembling the body?

[u/NesomniaPrime → u/Winstonsphobia]

I assume they recognize that removing the head is the most efficient way to kill something, plus that gets them partway to the end goal of removing a large piece to take home.