Philanthus triangulum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum), also known as the bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus (from the now obsolete synonym Philanthus apivorus), is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores (feeding on nectar and pollen), the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in western honey bees.
The European beewolf is a species of solitary wasp with bold yellow and black markings on the abdomen, males have trident-shaped markings between their bluish eyes while the larger females have a reddish stripe behind the eyes and a pale face.
The European beewolf is found mainly in areas of open sandy ground in areas such as lowland heathland and coastal dunes. They are infrequently found in clay areas and in Britain have been recorded digging burrows... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 3 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Algiers | 🇩🇿 Algeria | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 8 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 9 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Beewolf sighting in London on a given day, based on 198 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 189th most-seen of the 1504 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.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a European Beewolf in London on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Beewolf sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 31
Of the 31 cities where we can rate European Beewolf sightings, London ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Warsaw (Poland, about 20%), Kuwait City (Kuwait, about 20%) and Hamburg (Germany, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Beewolf is recorded against all the insects logged in London (198 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.
