Evania appendigaster
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Evania appendigaster, also known as the blue-eyed ensign wasp, is a species of wasp in the family Evaniidae. Its native range is not known, but it likely originated in Asia (Specifically tropical or oriental regions). Today it occurs throughout the tropics and subtropics and in many temperate regions. As with the rest of its family, the blue-eyed ensign wasp is a parasitoid known for specializing on cockroach eggs.
This is one of the larger ensign wasps, with forewings up to about 7 millimeters long. It is distinguished from other species by the wide separation of the first and second sections of the coxa, the segment of the leg that attaches to the body. Its body is black in color with contrasting blue eyes. The abdominal petiole, the constricted stalk that holds the posterior section of the abdomen, or gaster, is attached high on the body. The gaster is laterally compressed and oval to nearly triangular in shape, held in a flaglike fashion and resembling an ensign, a characteristic of the family that inspired the common name ensign wasp.
This wasp reproduces by laying eggs into egg cases, or oothecae, of cockroaches. The wasp larvae use the cockroach... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 3 | iSimangaliso Wetland Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | |
| 5 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Casablanca | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 2 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 3 | Karachi | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | |
| 4 | São Luís | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Valencia | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 6 | Mendoza | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 7 | Santo Domingo | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | |
| 8 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 10 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Eyed Ensign Wasp sighting in Saguaro National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 300th most-seen of the 354 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue-Eyed Ensign Wasp in Saguaro National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months. That is one of Saguaro National Park's wettest months, with about 50 mm of rain against almost none in May.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue-Eyed Ensign 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.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Blue-Eyed Ensign Wasp sightings, Saguaro National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tijuca National Park (Brazil, about 10%), Cumbres de Monterrey National Park (Mexico, about 10%) and iSimangaliso Wetland Park (South Africa, under 5%).
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Blue-Eyed Ensign Wasp that you can see in Saguaro National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Arizona Paper Wasp (about 20%), Yellow Paper Wasp (about 10%) and Desert Leaf-Cutter Ant (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue-Eyed Ensign Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Saguaro 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.
