Anthidium manicatum
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Anthidium manicatum, commonly called the European wool carder bee, is a species of bee in the family Megachilidae, the leaf-cutter bees and mason bees. They get the name "carder" from their behaviour of scraping hair from leaves such as lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina), similar to the way textile workers card fibers. They carry this hair bundled beneath their bodies to be used as a nest lining. Like other members of the tribe Anthidiini, these bees do not cut leaves or petals as is typical for megachilids. The males engage in territorial behaviour, aggressively chasing other males and pollinators from their territory.
This bee is native to Europe, Asia, and North Africa. It was accidentally introduced into North America from Europe some time in the mid-20th century, first seen in 1963 near Ithaca, New York, and has become an invasive pest. It is now also found in regions of South America, New Zealand, and the Canary Islands. They are generalists, and do not seem to prefer any plant genera for foraging, although in New Zealand, native plants are visited less frequently.
This bee is in the Anthidium genus, known as the carder bees or potter bees, and consisting... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 4 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 7 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Woolcarder Bee sighting in Great Bear Rainforest on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 150th most-seen of the 235 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.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Woolcarder Bee in Great Bear Rainforest on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Great Bear Rainforest's driest months, with about 140 mm of rain a month against 480 mm in November.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Woolcarder Bee sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 7 parks where we can rate European Woolcarder Bee sightings, Great Bear Rainforest ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the European Woolcarder Bee that you can see in Great Bear Rainforest (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Yellow-Fronted Bumble Bee (about 30%), Sitka Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Black-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Woolcarder Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Bear Rainforest (8 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.
