Polistes dominula
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The European paper wasp (Polistes dominula) is one of the most common and well-known species of social wasps in the genus Polistes. Its diet is more diverse than those of most Polistes species—many genera of insects versus mainly caterpillars in other Polistes—giving it superior survivability compared to other wasp species during a shortage of resources.
The dominant females are the principal egg layers, while the subordinate females ("auxiliaries") or workers primarily forage and do not lay eggs. This hierarchy is not permanent, though; when the queen is removed from the nest, the second-most dominant female takes over the role of the previous queen. Dominance in females is determined by the severity of the scatteredness in the coloration of the clypeus (face), whereas dominance in males is shown by the variation of spots of their abdomens. P. dominula is common and cosmopolitan due to their exceptional survival features such as productive colony cycle, short development time, and higher ability to endure predator attacks.
These wasps have a lek-based mating system. Unlike most social insects, 35% of P. dominula wasps in a colony are unrelated. It is considered an invasive species in Canada and the United States. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 7 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 10 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 12 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Algiers | 🇩🇿 Algeria | |
| 4 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 8 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Paper Wasp sighting in Melbourne on a given day, based on 198 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 79th most-seen of the 875 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 to April
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Paper Wasp in Melbourne on a given day, against under 5% in May to August, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Paper 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.
40th of 62
Of the 62 cities where we can rate European Paper Wasp sightings, Melbourne ranks 40th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tijuana (México, about 30%), Salt Lake City (United States, about 30%) and Algiers (Algeria, about 20%).
Same genus: Polistes
The closest relatives of the European Paper Wasp that you can see in Melbourne (genus Polistes, Umbrella Paper Wasps) are Asian Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Australian Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Melbourne (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.
