Polistes major
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Polistes major is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States. This species is known as avispa de caballo (Spanish: "horse wasp") in the Dominican Republic. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horse Paper Wasp sighting in Orlando on a given day, based on 51 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 37th most-seen of the 294 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horse Paper Wasp in Orlando on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horse Paper Wasp 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 6 cities where we can rate Horse Paper Wasp sightings, Orlando ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in León (México, about 10%).
Same genus: Polistes
The closest relatives of the Horse Paper Wasp that you can see in Orlando (genus Polistes, Umbrella Paper Wasps) are Guinea Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Hunter's Little Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horse Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Orlando (51 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.
