Pepsis thisbe
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Pepsis thisbe, also known as Thisbe's tarantula-hawk wasp, is a species of spider wasp in the family Pompilidae. Females are 32-44 mm long with a dark blue body and orange wings. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 5 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Thisbe's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp sighting in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 143 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.
August
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Thisbe's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp in Grand Canyon National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Thisbe's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Thisbe's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp sightings, Grand Canyon National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Zion National Park (United States, about 10%) and Joshua Tree National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Thisbe's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp that you can see in Grand Canyon National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Western Carpenter Bee (about 30%), Kaibab Paper Wasp (about 20%) and Morrison's Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Thisbe's Tarantula-Hawk Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Grand Canyon National Park (17 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.
