Epistrophe eligans
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Epistrophe eligans is a European species of hoverfly. External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera Wing length 6·25-9·5 mm. Eyes bare. Stigma pale yellow. Tergite 4 with smaller yellow markings than tergite 3 or tergite 4 black.
Palaearctic. South Sweden to Iberia. Ireland East through Central and South Europe into Turkey and European Russia as far as the Caucasus. The habitat is deciduous woodland and scrub, suburban gardens, parks. Found by tracksides, clearings. Flowers visited include white umbellifers, Acer pseudoplatanus, Cistus, Crataegus, Endymion, Euonymus, Euphorbia, Ilex, Prunus spinosa, Stellaria, Viburnum opulus.
The flight period is April to June (earlier in southern areas, later at higher altitudes and northerly latitudes). The larva is aphid feeding on shrubs and trees. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 5 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 10 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spring Epistrophe sighting in Berlin on a given day, based on 64 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 166th most-seen of the 1065 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spring Epistrophe in Berlin on a given day, against under 5% in June to March, the lowest months. That is one of Berlin's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 80 mm in July.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spring Epistrophe sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 19
Of the 19 cities where we can rate Spring Epistrophe sightings, Berlin ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in London (United Kingdom, about 20%), Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 20%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Spring Epistrophe that you can see in Berlin (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Marmalade Hover Fly (about 20%), Yellow-Haired Sun Fly (about 10%) and Hornet Mimic Hover Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Spring Epistrophe is recorded against all the insects logged in Berlin (64 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.
