Scolia dubia
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Scolia dubia, also known as the two-spotted scoliid wasp or a blue-winged scoliid wasp, is a species in the family Scoliidae. S. dubia is a 2.0–2.5-centimeter (0.8–1.0 in) long wasp. The body is black from the head through the first or second segment of the abdomen. The second third abdominal segment and beyond are red. The nominate subspecies possesses has the second abdominal segment black and two yellow spots on the third tergite, which are lacking in the subspecies S. dubia haematodes. The wings are violaceous or with blueish reflections.
Males are colored as the female of their respective subspecies but have longer antennae and seven rather than six metasomal segments. The subspecies S. dubia haematodes is colored much like Triscolia ardens but can be recognized by the forewing only possessing two submarginal cells rather than three in T. ardens.
This species ranges from New England to Florida and west to California in the United States. The southern extent of its range extends to Coahuila, Mexico. Females burrow into ground in search of grubs, particularly those of the green June beetle, Cotinis nitida, and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Winged Scoliid Wasp sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 227 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 79th most-seen of the 978 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.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Winged Scoliid Wasp in Chicago on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-Winged Scoliid 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.
5th of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Blue-Winged Scoliid Wasp sightings, Chicago ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Philadelphia (United States, about 20%), New York City (United States, about 10%) and Baltimore (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Blue-Winged Scoliid Wasp that you can see in Chicago (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Common Eastern Bumble Bee (about 30%), Brown-Belted Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Two-Spotted Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-Winged Scoliid Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Chicago (227 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.
