Eupeodes fumipennis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Eupeodes fumipennis, the western aphideater, is a species of hover fly in the family Syrphidae. As the common name implies, larvae prey on plant-sucking insects, primarily aphids. Like other members of the family, adults often hover over the plants they visit. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Phoenix | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Aphideater sighting in Banff National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 76th most-seen of the 105 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Western Aphideater in Banff National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to July, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Western Aphideater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Western Aphideater sightings, Banff National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 10%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Western Aphideater that you can see in Banff National Park (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Common Drone Fly (about 30%), White-Bowed Smoothwing (about 10%) and Black-Margined Flower Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Western Aphideater is recorded against all the insects logged in Banff National Park (7 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.
