Mutilla europaea
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Mutilla europaea, the large velvet ant, is a species of parasitoid wasps belonging to the family Mutillidae. It is a parasitoid on various species of bumblebees and is found in Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The males of M. europaea are dark red on the apex of mandible and the thorax. The first and second terga on the abdomen have bands of long silver setae, that on the second tergum may either be interrupted or wavy. The sides of the second tergum are clothed in long silver setae. The tip of the abdomen and the rest of the body are covered with long black, straight setae. The legs are largely covered in black setae, with a scattering of silver setae. Some variation occurs, and in some specimens, silver dominate setae dominate the hind legs, some males are completely black. In females, the mesonotum is red, and sometimes extends to parts of the pronotum. The first tergum has a band of long, silver setae, the remaining terga are spotted with silver setae along their flanks; they can be close together. The legs have some short, adjecting black and silver setae. The presence of the setae, or bristles, gives rise to the name "velvet ant".
Mutilla europaea... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 2 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 6 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 7 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Large Velvet Ant sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 221st most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Large Velvet Ant in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months. Those are among Mercantour National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in October.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Large Velvet Ant sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Large Velvet Ant sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 20%) and Vanoise National Park (France, about 20%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Large Velvet Ant that you can see in Mercantour National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Brown-Black Carpenter Ant (about 20%), Manica rubida (about 10%) and Sichel's Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Large Velvet Ant is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (9 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.
