Cheilosia variabilis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Cheilosia variabilis, common name figwort cheilosia, is a species of hoverfly belonging to the family Syrphidae. This species is native to the Palearctic realm, present in most of Europe eastwards to western Siberia, in the Near East, and in North Africa.
These hoverflies inhabit deciduous forest, from the Fagus, Picea zone to alluvial hardwood forest, tracksides and edges of clearings. For terms see Morphology of Diptera Cheilosia variabilis can reach a body length of 10–25 millimetres (0.39–0.98 in) and a wing length of 9–12 mm. Like most Cheilosia this large species is blackish in color, causing it to sometimes be overlooked as a hoverfly. The face has outstanding hairs on the sides and a conspicuous central knob. Antennae are black or dark brown and hairs of arista are longer than the diameter of basal part. The thorax is black-haired, the abdomen is rather elongate and the tergites are pale yellow-haired. The wings are greyish and disproportionately long. Legs are entirely black. In males, the halteres are pale brown.
The larva is figured by Dusek (1962). This species is rather similar to Cheilosia lasiopa, Cheilosia vulpina... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cheilosia variabilis sighting in Birmingham on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 668th most-seen of the 811 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.
May
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Cheilosia variabilis in Birmingham on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months.
Only Birmingham, in our data
Birmingham is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Cheilosia variabilis sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Cheilosia
The closest relatives of the Cheilosia variabilis that you can see in Birmingham (genus Cheilosia, Blacklets) are Bumblebee Blacklet (about 10%) and Parsley Blacklet (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cheilosia variabilis is recorded against all the insects logged in Birmingham (6 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.
