Euglossa dilemma
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Euglossa dilemma, the green orchid bee or dilemma orchid bee, is a species of solitary euglossine bee native to a broad area of Central America, and recently introduced to Florida in the United States. It was first detected in Broward County, Florida in 2003, and initially identified as Euglossa viridissima, but further study revealed that E. viridissima as previously defined consisted of two cryptic species, and the one present in Florida was new to science.
Euglossa viridissima is a species of green orchid bee from Central America in which the males have two teeth on their mandibles.α The very similar bee that was first observed in Florida in 2003 was found to have three such teeth. Sequencing data from a mitochondrial gene was unable to separate E. viridissima and E. dilemma, indicating they are closely related and form a clade within Euglossa. However, microsatellite allele frequencies varied between the two groups. Males of these bees store aromatic compounds extracted from various environmental sources in pouches on their hind legs. Certain characteristic compounds present as main ingredients in these perfumes in E. dilemma were found to be absent in E. viridissima... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dilemma Orchid Bee sighting in Orlando on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 29th most-seen of the 294 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.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Dilemma Orchid Bee in Orlando on a given day, against under 5% in February, the lowest month.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Dilemma Orchid Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Dilemma Orchid Bee sightings, Orlando ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic, about 10%).
Same family: Apidae
The closest relatives of the Dilemma Orchid Bee that you can see in Orlando (family Apidae, Honey Bees, Bumble Bees, and Allies) are American Bumble Bee (about 10%), Eastern Carpenter Bee (about 10%) and Southern Carpenter Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dilemma Orchid Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Orlando (62 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.
