Dolichovespula sylvestris
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The tree wasp (Dolichovespula sylvestris) is a species of eusocial wasp in the family Vespidae, found in the temperate regions of Eurasia, particularly in western Europe. Despite being called the tree wasp, it builds both aerial and underground paper nests, and can be found in rural and urban habitats. D. sylvestris is a medium-sized wasp that has yellow and black stripes and a black dot in the center of its clypeus. It is most common to see this wasp between May and September during its 3.5 month colony cycle.
Tree wasps carry out worker policing and have a haplodiploid sex-determination system; this results in a high level of relatedness within the colony. The workers will take over all of the foraging from the queen once the first workers reach adulthood. Worker wasps typically forage for other insects, the nectar of plants, and wood to digest for nest construction. The tree wasp is sometimes a victim of the nest parasite Dolichovespula omissa, who lays its eggs in the nest of D. sylvestris, as well as individual parasites including roundworms.
The tree wasp was first classified in 1763 by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, a naturalist and physician who is known for classifying... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tree Wasp sighting in Helsinki on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 480th most-seen of the 838 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 and June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tree Wasp in Helsinki on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tree Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Tree Wasp sightings, Helsinki has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Moscow (Russia, under 5%).
Same genus: Dolichovespula
The closest relatives of the Tree Wasp that you can see in Helsinki (genus Dolichovespula, Aerial Yellowjackets) are Saxon Wasp (about 10%) and Median Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tree Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Helsinki (11 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.
