Philanthus triangulum
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
The European beewolf (Philanthus triangulum), also known as the bee-killer wasp or the bee-eating philanthus (from the now obsolete synonym Philanthus apivorus), is a solitary wasp that lives in the Western Palearctic and Afrotropics. Although the adults of the species are herbivores (feeding on nectar and pollen), the species derives its name from the behaviour of the inseminated females, who hunt western honey bees. The female places several of its paralysed prey together with an egg in a small underground chamber, to serve as food for the wasp larvae. All members of the genus Philanthus hunt various species of bees, but P. triangulum is apparently the only one that specialises in western honey bees.
The European beewolf is a species of solitary wasp with bold yellow and black markings on the abdomen, males have trident-shaped markings between their bluish eyes while the larger females have a reddish stripe behind the eyes and a pale face.
The European beewolf is found mainly in areas of open sandy ground in areas such as lowland heathland and coastal dunes. They are infrequently found in clay areas and in Britain have been recorded digging burrows... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 3 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Table Mountain National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Kuwait City | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | |
| 3 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Algiers | 🇩🇿 Algeria | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 8 | Kharkiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 9 | Barcelona | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 10 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Beewolf sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 280th 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 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a European Beewolf in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to June, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most European Beewolf sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate European Beewolf sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, about 10%) and Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the European Beewolf is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea National Park (20 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.
