Rhagio mystaceus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Rhagio mystaceus, also known as the down-looker fly, downlooker snipefly and common snipe fly, is a species of fly from the family Rhagionidae. Rhagio mystaceus has an overall dark color, with males growing to 7–9 mm, and females reaching 6–8 mm. The thorax has three dark dorsal stripes. Normally, the center stripe has a very thin, pale line running down the middle. On the abdomen, there are yellowish rings at the posterior of the segments. However, the basal segment on some specimens are mostly yellowish and have a black dorsal and lateral spot.
The wings are patterned, with dark tips. The fly is found in middle and eastern North America, east of the Great Plains. Media related to Rhagio mystaceus at Wikimedia Commons Images Images Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe Fly sighting in Boston on a given day, based on 62 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 227th most-seen of the 1200 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe Fly in Boston on a given day, against under 5% in July to April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Snipe 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.
Yes
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Common Snipe Fly sightings, Boston has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, under 5%) and New York City (United States, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Snipe Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Boston (62 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.
