Polistes japonicus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Polistes japonicus is a eusocial paper wasp found in Japan. It was first described by Henri Louis Frédéric de Saussure in 1858. It is closely related to Polistes formosanus. This species lives in small colonies with few workers and a foundress queen. Nests of these wasps are sometimes used as a traditional medicine in Korea, China, and Japan.
Polistes japonicus is a member of the tribe Polistini within the paper wasp subfamily, Polistinae. They are in the subgenus Polistella within Polistes. A close relative within this subgenus is P. snelleni. They are primitively eusocial wasps.
P. japonicus has a pronotum with sparse, minor punctures. In males, the anterior margin of the clypeus is rounded. The scutellum disc is slightly convex. The abdomen is yellow with brown and/or black bands. The wings are darkened with a brownish tint. There are no morphological differences between workers and new reproductive females in this species. There is a sexual dimorphism in P. japonicus, with males being larger than females. This is suggested to be a result of local mate competition between the males.
The nests are paper... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Polistes japonicus sighting in Hong Kong on a given day, based on 86 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 132nd most-seen of the 1125 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Polistes japonicus in Hong Kong on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months. Those are among Hong Kong's wettest months, with about 250 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in December.
Yes
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Polistes japonicus sightings, Hong Kong has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Tuen Mun (China, about 10%) and Taipei (Taiwan, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Polistes japonicus is recorded against all the insects logged in Hong Kong (86 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.
