Rhagio mystaceus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Rhagio mystaceus, also known as the down-looker fly, downlooker snipefly and common snipe fly, is a species of fly from the family Rhagionidae. Rhagio mystaceus has an overall dark color, with males growing to 7–9 mm, and females reaching 6–8 mm. The thorax has three dark dorsal stripes. Normally, the center stripe has a very thin, pale line running down the middle. On the abdomen, there are yellowish rings at the posterior of the segments. However, the basal segment on some specimens are mostly yellowish and have a black dorsal and lateral spot.
The wings are patterned, with dark tips. The fly is found in middle and eastern North America, east of the Great Plains. Media related to Rhagio mystaceus at Wikimedia Commons Images Images Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe Fly sighting in Acadia National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 76th 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 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe Fly in Acadia National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Snipe Fly 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 Common Snipe Fly sightings, Acadia National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same genus: Rhagio
The closest relatives of the Common Snipe Fly that you can see in Acadia National Park (genus Rhagio) are Lesser Variegated Snipe Fly (about 10%) and Rhagio tringaria (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Snipe Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Acadia 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.
