Polistes major
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Polistes major is a Neotropical species of paper wasp found from South America north into the southern United States. This species is known as avispa de caballo (Spanish: "horse wasp") in the Dominican Republic. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | León | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 4 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Horse Paper Wasp sighting in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, based on 34 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 35th most-seen of the 189 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.
February, August–September and November
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Horse Paper Wasp in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on a given day, against under 5% in June and July, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Horse Paper 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.
2nd of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Horse Paper Wasp sightings, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Everglades National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same genus: Polistes
The closest relatives of the Horse Paper Wasp that you can see in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (genus Polistes, Umbrella Paper Wasps) are Hunter's Little Paper Wasp (about 10%), Southern Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Metric Paper Wasp (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Horse Paper Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (34 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.
