GIANT Yellow Jackets! They're Everywhere! Take Cover!

Wasps are all over the place. Mud daubers and yellow jackets galore here in San Antonio. But this evening, I freaked out when I saw 2-inch yellow jackets zooming all over our yard. They say bugs are bigger in Texas, and while that is often true, I never imagined the wasps are giant too! Rex stomped one to death and put it in a container for me to take to get identified, but a quick search on the internet revealed it is not a wasp at all, but a Cicada Killer. An article in the 2004 San Antonio Express News explains that they are harmless to humans. They appear soon after you start hearing cicadas singing and stay active until the fall. While it is comforting to know that all these giant wasps are non-threatening, their appearance is still frightening to me and most certainly to my kids who are already terrified of regular wasps.
The ones in our yard were about twice the size of this one pictured.