Tremex columba
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Tremex columba, also known as the pigeon tremex or pigeon horntail, is a species of horntail that is native to eastern and western North America. The females are larger than the males, with females growing to 25-30mm in length, and males about 20-25mm. The species can vary in coloration from light brown to dark reddish brown, and sports yellow and black stripes along the abdomen. Both males and females have long projections protruding from their rear, with the females possessing an additional projection in the form of an ovipositor.
The females of the species use their ovipositor to deposit their eggs into dead and dying deciduous trees such as beech, elm, maple, and oak, which the larvae burrow inside of and feed upon. They usually deposit between two and seven eggs into the tree. The female will die after this process, and carcasses can sometimes be seen stuck to the bark of host trees.
Megarhyssa macrurus, M. greenei, and M. atrata are the natural predators of this species. The female Megarhyssa seeks out the larvae within the tunnels bored by this species. It then lays an egg next to the larva and then injects a... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
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More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pigeon Horntail sighting in Portland on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 120th most-seen of the 507 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pigeon Horntail in Portland on a given day, against under 5% in November to June, the lowest months. Those are among Portland's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against 250 mm in December.
Among the best
Of the 14 cities where we can rate Pigeon Horntail sightings, Portland ranks 4th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Salt Lake City (United States, about 10%), Denver (United States, about 10%) and Boston (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Pigeon Horntail that you can see in Portland (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Black-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 20%), European Paper Wasp (about 20%) and Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pigeon Horntail is recorded against all the insects logged in Portland (50 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.
