Priocnemis monachus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Priocnemis monachus is a species of spider wasp endemic to New Zealand, where it is known as the black hunting wasp or ngaro wīwī. It hunts large tunnelweb or trapdoor spiders, paralysing them with its sting and storing them in burrows for its larvae to eat alive. It is the largest member of the family Pompilidae in New Zealand.
The holotype of this species was collected by Joseph Dalton Hooker, and is in the Banks collection of the British Museum of Natural History. It is one of a number of species named but not described by Adam White, and intended to appear in the series Voyage of the Erebus and Terror, but not in fact being published there. In error, Frederick Smith in 1855 attributed the species to White, but Smith's listing of it as Pompilus monachus in his Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the British Museum is the first published description. In the years following its description, the species has been placed in the genera Pompilus, Salius, Trichocurgus, and Chirodamus, but in Anthony Harris's 1987 revision of New Zealand pompilids he assigned it to Priocnemis, subgenus Trichocurgus.
This species is known as the black hunting wasp or large black... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Priocnemis monachus sighting in Rakiura National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 103rd most-seen of the 118 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Priocnemis monachus in Rakiura National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February to September, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Priocnemis monachus sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 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 Priocnemis monachus sightings, Rakiura National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Egmont National Park (New Zealand, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Priocnemis monachus is recorded against all the insects logged in Rakiura National Park (5 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.
