Lesser Hornet Hoverfly

Lesser Hornet Hoverfly

Volucella inanis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Birmingham

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

117 Verified sightings at Birmingham
44 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly

Volucella inanis is a species of hoverfly belonging to the family Syrphidae. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~10%
2 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
3 Ecrins National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
4 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
2 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
3 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
~10%
5 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
6 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
7 Copenhagen 🇩🇰 Denmark
~10%
8 Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
9 Stockholm 🇸🇪 Sweden
~10%
10 Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly in Birmingham?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly sighting in Birmingham on a given day, based on 117 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 83rd most-seen of the 811 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly in Birmingham?

July and August

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly in Birmingham on a given day, against under 5% in December to June, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lesser Hornet Hoverfly sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Birmingham the best place to see a Lesser Hornet Hoverfly?

2nd of 19

Of the 19 cities where we can rate Lesser Hornet Hoverfly sightings, Birmingham ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in London (United Kingdom, about 20%).

Which relatives of the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly live in Birmingham?

Same genus: Volucella

The closest relatives of the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly that you can see in Birmingham (genus Volucella, Plumehorns) are Hornet Mimic Hover Fly (about 20%), Pellucid Hover Fly (about 10%) and Bumble Bee Hover Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Lesser Hornet Hoverfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Birmingham (117 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.

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