Polistes major
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Polistes major is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States. This species is known as avispa de caballo (Spanish: "horse wasp") in the Dominican Republic. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horse Paper Wasp sighting in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 220th most-seen of the 262 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Horse Paper Wasp in Big Cypress National Preserve on a given day, against under 5% in March–June, August–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horse Paper 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.
3rd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Horse Paper Wasp sightings, Big Cypress National Preserve ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Everglades National Park (United States, about 20%) and Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Polistes
The closest relatives of the Horse Paper Wasp that you can see in Big Cypress National Preserve (genus Polistes, Umbrella Paper Wasps) are Bahamian Paper Wasp (about 10%), Hunter's Little Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Southern Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horse Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Big Cypress National Preserve (5 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.
