Pelidnota punctata
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Pelidnota punctata, the grapevine beetle, spotted June beetle or spotted pelidnota, is a species of beetle in the family Scarabaeidae (Scarab beetles), subfamily Rutelinae. Grapevine beetles are common in the north and central United States and eastern Canada, but do relatively little damage to their host plants. The beetles fly at a fast speed, usually in a curving flight.
The adult beetle is approximately 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) long, but can reach 3 cm (1.2 in) occasionally. Its pattern is off-yellow or auburn red, with four black spots running down each side. Fine black lines divide the edges of its elytra. There are regional variants of Pelidnota punctata: a common southern form lacks the darker legs, while the northern form has darker legs. Adults in the northern parts of its range will have darker and more spots, while those in the southern regions may not have them at all. The grapevine beetle is a variable species, whose taxonomy was confused by a single authority (Thomas Casey) who split the species into 11 different taxa in 1915, only to have these names relegated to synonymy by subsequent workers.
This species lives throughout the eastern part of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grapevine Beetle sighting in New York City on a given day, based on 272 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 109th most-seen of the 1623 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.
June and July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grapevine Beetle in New York City on a given day, against under 5% in August to May, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grapevine Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is mostly seen at night.
10th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Grapevine Beetle sightings, New York City ranks 10th at about 10%. The best odds are in Detroit (United States, about 20%), Philadelphia (United States, about 10%) and Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Scarabaeidae
The closest relatives of the Grapevine Beetle that you can see in New York City (family Scarabaeidae, Scarabs) are Oriental Beetle (about 10%), Common Green June Beetle (about 10%) and Japanese Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grapevine Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in New York City (272 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.
