Nicrophorus vespillo
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Nicrophorus vespillo is a burying beetle described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It has a paleartic distribution and is commonly found across Europe and Asia, extending from Western Europe to Mongolia.
These are large beetles, from 12 to 25 mm in length and fly strongly. The beetles have two striking orange-yellow bands on the wing-cases. They are distinguished from others in the genus by the long golden hairs on the body and wing-cases as well as the orange club-shaped ends of the antennae and the shape of the hind legs.
They live on and lay eggs near carrion. The beetles reproduce from May to September, with both parents participating in preparations and care of the offspring. The parents will excavate beneath suitable small animal corpses, also covering it with the soil, so that it becomes buried and ready for the female to lay eggs. They may move the body to a more suitable location prior to burial. Burial can take place within a day for a small animal like a mouse. After burial they remove hair or feathers and shape the carcass into a ball within a small underground space. Eggs are laid in the soil around... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 2 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 9 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Vespillo Burying Beetle sighting in Munich on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 445th most-seen of the 521 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Vespillo Burying Beetle in Munich on a given day, against under 5% in September to July, the lowest months. That is one of Munich's wettest months, with about 140 mm of rain against 60 mm in February.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Vespillo Burying Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
6th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Vespillo Burying Beetle sightings, Munich ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Kyiv (Ukraine, about 10%), Nizhny Novgorod (Russia, under 5%) and Novosibirsk (Russia, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Vespillo Burying Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Munich (5 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.
