Polistes gallicus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Polistes gallicus is a species of paper wasp found in various parts of Europe, excluding England, Denmark, and Scandinavia, from warmer climates to cooler regions north of the Alps. Nests of these social insects are created in these various conditions. The Polistes species use an oral secretion to construct their nests, which consist of a combination of saliva and chewed plant fibers. This structural mixture physically protects the nest from various harsh elements and from weathering over time.
P. gallicus, like other members of the subgenus Polistes (Polistes), has recognizable, bright yellow and black markings. They have smaller bodies than many of its allies that overlap in range, and their bodies are largely hairless. The species may be separated from allies through the following traits.
Females are identified by having 12 antennal segments and 6 abdominal segments. The antennae are orange and paler on the ventral surface than in many allies and have yellow-marked scapes. The malar space is short, under 0.75 times the distance between the lateral ocelli, and is black. They have slender mandibles that are mostly colored black with an excentric... Wikipedia →
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a French Paper Wasp sighting in Bucharest on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 303rd most-seen of the 361 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a French Paper Wasp in Bucharest on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most French Paper Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
8th of 11
Of the 11 cities where we can rate French Paper Wasp sightings, Bucharest ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Algiers (Algeria, about 30%), Jerusalem (Israel, about 10%) and Naples (Italy, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the French Paper Wasp that you can see in Bucharest (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Small-Headed Tree Ant (about 20%), European Gate-Keeper Ant (about 20%) and Dolichoderus quadripunctatus (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the French Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Bucharest (5 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.
