Volucella pellucens
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Volucella pellucens, the pellucid fly, is a hoverfly. This species occurs in much of Europe, from Ireland and across the Palearctic to Japan. The adult V. pellucens is usually found in woodlands and wooded hedgerows, but will enter gardens.
Volucella pellucens is about 13–17 mm in length, with a wing length about 10–15.5 mm. This hoverfly has a broad, mainly black body, but the front part of the abdomen has a broad, yellow band, giving it the appearance of a bee or wasp. The two wings are transparent, as with most flies, but the leading edge is amber, with a brown patch on each wing.
The mimicry of bees or wasps in shape and colouration is shown by other hoverflies, which is thought to protect against falling prey to birds and other insectivores that avoid eating true wasps because of their stings. However, the difference between hoverflies and wasps or bees is hoverflies have two wings, and the Hymenoptera species have four.
Adults live on nectar and pollen, as with most hoverflies, and visits a large range of flowers from May to October, showing a distinct preference for white flowers, such as Sambucus, Cornus, Ligustrum... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 4 | Plitvice Lakes National Park | 🇭🇷 Croatia | |
| 5 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 7 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 8 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 13 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 14 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 15 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 16 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 8 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 10 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pellucid Hover Fly sighting in Berlin on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 473rd most-seen of the 1065 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.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pellucid Hover Fly in Berlin on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pellucid Hover 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.
23rd of 27
Of the 27 cities where we can rate Pellucid Hover Fly sightings, Berlin ranks 23rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Manchester (United Kingdom, about 10%), Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Helsinki (Finland, about 10%).
Same genus: Volucella
The closest relatives of the Pellucid Hover Fly that you can see in Berlin (genus Volucella, Plumehorns) are Hornet Mimic Hover Fly (about 10%) and Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pellucid Hover Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Berlin (15 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.
