Sceliphron caementarium
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Sceliphron caementarium, also known as the yellow-legged mud-dauber wasp (within the US) or black-waisted mud-dauber wasp (outside of the US), is a species of sphecid wasp. There are 33 other species of Sceliphron that occur throughout the world, though in appearance and habits they are quite similar to S. caementarium.
The Latin species word caementārius means "mason" or "builder of walls." S. caementarium is widespread in Canada, the United States, Central America and the West Indies, and has been introduced to many Pacific Islands (including Australia, Hawaii, and Japan), Peru and Europe, where it has become established in some countries of the Mediterranean Basin (Croatia, France and Corsica, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, the Canary Islands, and Madeira) and Austria, Bulgaria, and Ukraine.
This species is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as rock ledges, man-made structures, puddles and other water edges, cypress domes, in long leaf pines (Pinus palustris), and in turkey oaks. Sceliphron caementarium can reach a length of 24–28 mm (15⁄16–1+3⁄32 in). Their petiole is generally black and is about half the length of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp sighting in Badlands National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 37 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp in Badlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in March–May and September–January, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp sightings, Badlands National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Everglades National Park (United States, about 10%) and Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp that you can see in Badlands National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Brown-Belted Bumble Bee (about 30%), Western Harvester Ant (about 30%) and American Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Badlands National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
