Epistrophella emarginata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Epistrophella emarginata is a common North American species of hoverfly. Its larvae are aphid predators. When laying eggs, the female oviposits on the petioles of a leaf. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Slender Smoothtail sighting in Boston on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 547th most-seen of the 1200 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.
September
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Slender Smoothtail in Boston on a given day, against under 5% in October to August, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Slender Smoothtail sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Slender Smoothtail sightings, Boston ranks 2nd at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Baltimore (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Slender Smoothtail that you can see in Boston (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Margined Calligrapher (about 20%), Eastern Calligrapher (about 20%) and Transverse-Banded Flower Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Slender Smoothtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Boston (18 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.
