Vespula germanica
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Vespula germanica, known colloquially as the European wasp, German wasp, or German yellowjacket, is a species of wasp found in much of the Northern Hemisphere, native to Europe, Northern Africa, and temperate Asia. It has spread and become well-established in many other places, including North America, South America (Argentina and Chile), Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand. German wasps are part of the family Vespidae and are sometimes mistakenly referred to as paper wasps because they build grey paper nests, although strictly speaking, paper wasps are part of the subfamily Polistinae. In North America, they are also known as yellowjackets.
Vespula germanica belongs to the genus Vespula, which includes various species of social wasps that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, these wasps are most commonly known as yellowjackets, but this name also applies to species within the sister genus Dolichovespula. Members of Vespula are often confused with other genera, especially the paper wasp Polistes dominula. Colonies of V. germanica share many characteristics with those of V. vulgaris (common wasp) and V. pensylvanica (western... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 10 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 12 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 13 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a German Yellowjacket sighting in New York City on a given day, based on 770 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 28th most-seen of the 1623 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.
September to November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a German Yellowjacket in New York City on a given day, against under 5% in January and April, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most German Yellowjacket sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
24th of 73
Of the 73 cities where we can rate German Yellowjacket sightings, New York City ranks 24th at about 10%. The best odds are in Ankara (Turkey, about 20%), Yerevan (Armenia, about 20%) and Berlin (Germany, about 20%).
Same genus: Vespula
The closest relatives of the German Yellowjacket that you can see in New York City (genus Vespula, Ground Yellowjackets) are Eastern Yellowjacket (about 10%) and Southern Yellowjacket (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the German Yellowjacket is recorded against all the insects logged in New York City (770 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.
