Anoplius viaticus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Anoplius viaticus, commonly known as the black-banded spider wasp, is a species of spider wasp. These wasps are known as spider wasps because the females capture spiders to provide their offspring with food. The paralysed spider is cached in a burrow, the wasp lays an egg on it, and when this hatches, the developing wasp larva consumes the spider. This species is found in sandy heathland across most of Europe, and also the mountainous parts of eastern Africa and the temperate parts of South Africa.
A. viaticus is a large species of spider-hunting wasp and measures about 14 millimetres (0.55 in) in length. The head and thorax are black and the propodeum is fused to the thorax and bears erect black hairs. The first three tergites of the abdomen are red with black rear margins and the remainder of the abdomen is black. In Africa, the species is quite variable and Arnold described a number of varieties; in particular, the extent of the red colours on the abdomen varies, with the first two or three tergites of some specimens being entirely red or orange.
Adult A. viaticus feed on nectar from flowers. Wasps in this species predominantly prey on spiders from the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Banded Spider Wasp sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 630th most-seen of the 818 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.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Banded Spider Wasp in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months. That is one of Wadden Sea National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 140 mm in November.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-Banded Spider Wasp sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Wadden Sea National Park, in our data
Wadden Sea National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Black-Banded Spider Wasp sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same order: Hymenoptera
The closest relatives of the Black-Banded Spider Wasp that you can see in Wadden Sea National Park (order Hymenoptera, Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies) are Common Carder Bumble Bee (about 10%), Common Pantaloon Bee (about 10%) and Moss Carder Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-Banded Spider Wasp is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea National Park (6 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.
