Podalonia tydei
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Podalonia tydei, commonly known as Tyde's sand wasp, is a species of sand wasp and thread-wasted wasp in the family Sphecidae. It is found throughout Australia, southern Europe, Asia, North Africa, and New Zealand, and frequent areas with exposed sand, especially coastal dunes. Adults are active at day during periods of strong sunlight, disappearing when it becomes overcast.
The subspecies P. t. suspiciosa occurs only in Australia and New Zealand. Adult females grow to 22.2 mm in length, while males grow up to 17.5 mm. Head, mesosoma, legs, and distal half of the metasoma black, while the proximal half of the metasoma is described as being a "fulvous-red". Fine, silver-white hairs on the head, coxae, and metasoma. Mandibles large and long, dark red in colour, with three mesal molar teeth. Fore-tarsi with a rake of long, stiff bristles, and all legs are long and slender.
Larvae of P. tydei grow to 13.5 mm in length, and are slightly compressed dorsoventrally, tapered toward the head capsule. Head with a width of 1.34 mm, pale, with mandibles and three large teeth. Cocoon is a light brown.
P. tydei wasps are known to often bask in... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tyde's Sand Wasp sighting in Great Otway National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 203rd most-seen of the 418 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and November–January
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tyde's Sand Wasp in Great Otway National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February and April–October, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tyde's Sand Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 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 Tyde's Sand Wasp sightings, Great Otway National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Grampians National Park (Australia, about 10%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Tyde's Sand Wasp that you can see in Great Otway National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Jack Jumper Ant (about 30%), Black-Scaped Bull Ant (about 20%) and Inchman Ant (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tyde's Sand Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Otway 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.
