Philanthus gibbosus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Philanthus gibbosus, the hump-backed beewolf, is a species of bee-hunting wasp and is the most common and widespread beewolf in North America. P. gibbosus is of the order Hymenoptera and the genus Philanthus. It is native to the Midwestern United States and the western Appalachians. P. gibbosus are often observed to visit flowers and other plants in search of insect prey to feed their young. The prey that P. gibbosus catches is then coated in a layer of pollen and fed to the young wasps.
Philanthus gibbosus is a member of the family Philanthidae of wasps within the order Hymenoptera. Molecular phylogeny revealed that bees, clade Anthophila, came from within the family Crabronidae sensu lato, meaning the family was paraphyletic. As a result, this species's subfamily, Philanthinae, was elevated to family status as Philanthidae.
The genus Philanthus contains about 135 other species in addition to P. gibbosus. Philanthus gibbosus is a small and robust wasp that is about 10–12 mm in length. P. gibbosus has an especially broad head and a coat of chitin that is shiny black with yellow spots on the head and yellow stripes on... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hump-Backed Beewolf sighting in New York City on a given day, based on 413 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 84th 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 to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hump-Backed Beewolf in New York City on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hump-Backed Beewolf sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 17 cities where we can rate Hump-Backed Beewolf sightings, New York City ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Boston (United States, about 10%), Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 10%) and Toronto (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Crabronidae
The closest relatives of the Hump-Backed Beewolf that you can see in New York City (family Crabronidae, Square-headed Wasps, Sand Wasps, and Allies) are Eastern Cicada-Killer Wasp (about 10%) and Four-Banded Stink Bug Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hump-Backed Beewolf is recorded against all the insects logged in New York City (413 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.
