Ampulex compressa
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The emerald cockroach wasp or jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa) is a solitary wasp of the family Ampulicidae. It is known for its unusual reproductive behavior, which involves leading a cockroach into a dug burrow and using it as a host for its larvae. It thus belongs to the entomophagous parasites.
The wasp is mostly found in the tropical regions of Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific islands. The flying wasps are more abundant in the warm seasons of the year. A. compressa was introduced to Hawaii by F.X. Williams in 1941 as a method of biocontrol. This has been unsuccessful because of the territorial tendencies of the wasp and the small scale on which they hunt.
The species is also found in the Brazilian states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. A. compressa likely arrived in the country through the ports of Santos and Rio de Janeiro. The wasp has a metallic blue-green body, with the thighs of the second and third pair of legs red. The female is about 22 mm long; the male is smaller and lacks a stinger. Males can be less than half of a female in size if emerging from a smaller or a superparasitized host. The species undergoes four larval... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | |
| 3 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 4 | Jakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Kozhikode | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Tuen Mun | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 7 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Bandung | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 10 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Emerald Cockroach Wasp sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 407th most-seen of the 1125 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.
June–September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Emerald Cockroach Wasp in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in October and December–May, the lowest months. Those are among Hong Kong's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in December.
14th of 17
Of the 17 cities where we can rate Emerald Cockroach Wasp sightings, Hong Kong ranks 14th at under 5%. The best odds are in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam, about 20%), Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (Sri Lanka, about 10%) and Dhaka (Bangladesh, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Emerald Cockroach Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (22 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.
