Anthidium manicatum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Anthidium manicatum, commonly called the European wool carder bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter bees and mason bees. They get the name "carder" from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina), similar to the way textile workers card fibers. They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining. Like other members of the tribe Anthidiini, these bees do not cut leaves or petals as is typical for megachilids. The males engage in territorial behaviour, aggressively chasing other males and pollinators from their territory.
This bee is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It was accidentally introduced into North America from Europe some time in the mid-20th century, first seen in 1963 near Ithaca, New York, and has become an invasive pest. It is now also found in regions of South America, New Zealand, and the Canary Islands. They are generalists, and do not seem to prefer any plant genera for foraging, although in New Zealand, native plants are visited less frequently.
This bee is in the Anthidium genus, known as the carder bees or potter bees, and consisting... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 7 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Woolcarder Bee sighting in Auckland on a given day, based on 79 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 90th most-seen of the 689 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.
February and March
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a European Woolcarder Bee in Auckland on a given day, against under 5% in June to October, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Woolcarder Bee sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 42
Of the 42 cities where we can rate European Woolcarder Bee sightings, Auckland ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Warsaw (Poland, about 20%), Sacramento (United States, about 20%) and Santiago (Chile, about 20%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the European Woolcarder Bee that you can see in Auckland (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 30%), Asian Paper Wasp (about 20%) and European Paper Wasp (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Woolcarder Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Auckland (79 verified sightings), 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.
