Megasyrphus laxus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Megasyrphus laxus (Osten Sacken 1875), the black-legged gossamer fly, is an uncommon species of syrphid fly observed throughout North America. Hoverflies can remain nearly motionless in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. Larvae are unknown. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Legged Gossamer sighting in Acadia National Park on a given day, based on 27 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 104th most-seen of the 405 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Legged Gossamer in Acadia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July and November–April, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-Legged Gossamer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Black-Legged Gossamer sightings, Acadia National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 10%) and Great Smoky Mountains National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Black-Legged Gossamer that you can see in Acadia National Park (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Margined Calligrapher (about 20%), Eastern Calligrapher (about 20%) and Common Drone Fly (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-Legged Gossamer is recorded against all the insects logged in Acadia National Park (27 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.
