Polistes jokahamae
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
The dark-waisted paper wasp, (Polistes jokahamae) is a species of primitively eusocial paper wasp from Southeast Asia. The dark-waisted paper wasp is found in Japan (excepting the island of Hokkaido), China, India, and Vietnam.
Queens emerge from diapause in late March. New nests are founded from mid-April to early May. Nests most often have a single founding queen; multiple foundresses are found in less than 1% of P. jokahamae colonies. Like other Polistes wasps, the dark-waisted paper wasp constructs nests of chewed plant fibers mixed with proteinaceous oral secretions.
Nests consist of multiple cells in which the queen lays her eggs. The cells are then capped with a silky material produced by the queen and the larvae develop inside. The first brood are fed and cared for by the queen. Two larvae are raised in each cell in the first brood (presumably to conserve resources) and the workers emerge smaller than those from later broods.
The first worker emerge in the summer, followed by a second brood which includes gynes (potential future queens) and a third brood which includes males. Rarely, males may be produced earlier in the colonies' lifecycle... Wikipedia →
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More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-Waisted Paper Wasp sighting in Tuen Mun on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 394th most-seen of the 557 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March, May–July and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Dark-Waisted Paper Wasp in Tuen Mun on a given day, against under 5% in April, August and October–February, the lowest months. Those are among Tuen Mun's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in December.
8th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Dark-Waisted Paper Wasp sightings, Tuen Mun ranks 8th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nagoya (Japan, about 30%), Osaka (Japan, about 20%) and Xiamen City (China, about 10%).
Same genus: Polistes
The closest relatives of the Dark-Waisted Paper Wasp that you can see in Tuen Mun (genus Polistes, Umbrella Paper Wasps) are Giant Brown Paper Wasp (about 20%), Yellow Oriental Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Tropical Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Dark-Waisted Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Tuen Mun (8 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.
