Sceliphron laetum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Sceliphron laetum is a wasp in the family Sphecidae, the mud-dauber wasps. Like other members of this genus, it is a solitary species and builds cells out of mud in which to rear its young, provisioning them with paralysed spiders, and laying an egg in each. This wasp is native to Australia and southeastern Asia.
Like other members of the family Specidae, the first abdominal segment of S. laetum has been modified into an elongated, slender petiole. This wasp is 17 to 26 millimetres (0.67 to 1.02 in) long and is largely black, with bold yellow markings. It has membranous wings which fold over the body when at rest. Its head is clad with yellow hairs which thin out ventrally. It lacks an area of bare yellow skin on the lower part of the face which is present in the otherwise similar Sceliphron formosum. The thorax has one or more yellow patches dorsally between the wings. The hind tip of the thorax, the petiole and the front part of the gaster are yellow, the bulbous central portion of the gaster is black and its apex is yellow. The legs are yellow with some black markings.
Sceliphron laetum is native to most of Australia and parts of southeastern... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kakadu National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Sceliphron laetum sighting in Daintree National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 306th most-seen of the 856 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.
September and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Sceliphron laetum in Daintree National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January and March–July, the lowest months. Those are among Daintree National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against 380 mm in January.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Sceliphron laetum sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Sceliphron laetum sightings, Daintree National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Kakadu National Park (Australia, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Sceliphron laetum is recorded against all the insects logged in Daintree National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
