Sceliphron caementarium
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Sceliphron caementarium, also known as the yellow-legged mud-dauber wasp (within the US) or black-waisted mud-dauber wasp (outside of the US), is a species of sphecid wasp. There are 33 other species of Sceliphron that occur throughout the world, though in appearance and habits they are quite similar to S. caementarium.
The Latin species word caementārius means "mason" or "builder of walls." S. caementarium is widespread in Canada, the United States, Central America and the West Indies, and has been introduced to many Pacific Islands (including Australia, Hawaii, and Japan), Peru and Europe, where it has become established in some countries of the Mediterranean Basin (Croatia, France and Corsica, Italy, Cyprus, Malta, the Canary Islands, and Madeira) and Austria, Bulgaria, and Ukraine.
This species is found in a wide variety of habitats, such as rock ledges, man-made structures, puddles and other water edges, cypress domes, in long leaf pines (Pinus palustris), and in turkey oaks. Sceliphron caementarium can reach a length of 24–28 mm (15⁄16–1+3⁄32 in). Their petiole is generally black and is about half the length of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 4 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 13 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp sighting in Phoenix on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 50th most-seen of the 264 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
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp in Phoenix on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months. That is one of Phoenix's driest months, with almost no rain against 35 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber 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 47 cities where we can rate Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp sightings, Phoenix ranks 25th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Naples (Italy, about 10%), Sacramento (United States, about 10%) and Austin (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp that you can see in Phoenix (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are California Digger Bee (about 10%), Southern Fire Ant (about 10%) and Valley Carpenter Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-Legged Mud-Dauber Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Phoenix (49 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.
