Trichopoda pennipes
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Trichopoda pennipes is a species of feather-legged fly in the dipteran family Tachinidae. This species is native to North America (United States, Mexico), Hawaiian Islands and South America and has been introduced into southern Europe (France, Italy and Spain).
This species inhabits grasslands, hedge rows and crops where its key hosts are present. Trichopoda pennipes can reach a length of 10.5 millimetres (0.41 in), about the size of a large housefly. These medium-sized flies have a velvety, black head. The black or brown thorax shows a few yellow stripes. Eyes are large, brown with yellow between. The color of the slender abdomen varies from bright orange to completely black. Females usually have a dark-tipped abdomen, while males have a dark orange apex. Wings are transparent, smoky with prominent veins. In the females they are evenly dusky, with the posterior margin sub-hyaline. Male flies have a ferrugineous marking on the wings. This fly has huge halteres. Legs are black, with yellow feet. The hind legs bear a prominent feather-like fringe of flattened hairs.
Trichopoda pennipes first appears in the late spring... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Feather-Legged Fly sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 982nd most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Feather-Legged Fly in Austin on a given day, against under 5% in November to September, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swift Feather-Legged 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.
10th of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Swift Feather-Legged Fly sightings, Austin ranks 10th at under 5%. The best odds are in Boston (United States, about 10%), Washington (United States, under 5%) and Philadelphia (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swift Feather-Legged Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (14 verified sightings), 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.
