#3519 · 🐝 bees, wasps & ants

European beewolf

🇳🇱 Bijenwolf ·Philanthus triangulum

🐝 Bees, wasps & ants 📍 in the Netherlands

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Ben Jobson · CC BY 4.0
2. © Mike Kerry · CC BY 4.0
3. Asten:© paula2504 · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. Arrien, Nederland:© Carel Jongkind · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. 5916 NA Venlo, Niederlande:© Peter Bönnen · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. Ommen, Nederland:© Rob Westerduijn · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. 7921 Zuidwolde, Nederland:© Olmen Vos · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. Groesbeek, Nederland:© Herman Berteler · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Kapelstraat, Liempde, 北勃拉邦特省, NL:© Bernard_22 · CC BY 4.0
10. Groesbeek, Nederland:© Herman Berteler · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

Philanthus triangulum , commonly known as the European beewolf , 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 behavior of the inseminated females, who hunt Western honey bees. The female places several of its paralyzed prey together with an egg in...

base stats

NL sightings 353iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 12,725iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 353 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #17 most seen of the bees, wasps & ants in NL.
12,725 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775 (251 years ago).