Meloe proscarabaeus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Meloe proscarabaeus is a European oil beetle. It lives in meadows, field margins and other warm sites in all but the far north of the continent. It lacks hind wings and the elytra are correspondingly reduced in size. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 2 | Budapest | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Belgrade | 🇷🇸 Serbia | |
| 4 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Oil Beetle sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 171st most-seen of the 818 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Oil Beetle in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to January, 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 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Oil Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Black Oil Beetle sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 10%) and Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%).
Same order: Coleoptera
The closest relatives of the Black Oil Beetle that you can see in Wadden Sea National Park (order Coleoptera, Beetles) are Seven-Spotted Lady Beetle (about 20%), Asian Lady Beetle (about 20%) and Common Red Soldier Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Oil Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea National Park (35 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.
