Vespula vidua
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Vespula vidua, known generally as the long yellowjacket or widow yellowjacket, is a species of stinging wasp in the family Vespidae. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Widow Yellowjacket sighting in New York City on a given day, based on 24 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 624th most-seen of the 1623 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.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Widow Yellowjacket in New York City on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Widow Yellowjacket sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Widow Yellowjacket sightings, New York City ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Boston (United States, about 10%), Baltimore (United States, under 5%) and Philadelphia (United States, under 5%).
Same genus: Vespula
The closest relatives of the Widow Yellowjacket that you can see in New York City (genus Vespula, Ground Yellowjackets) are German Yellowjacket (about 10%), 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 Widow Yellowjacket is recorded against all the insects logged in New York City (24 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.
