Eristalinus sepulchralis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Eristalinus sepulchralis is a European species of hoverfly. The species are brownish-white from a close up, and look like a wasp. From a distance though, they are yellowish-black coloured, and look like a bumble bee. The species can be found throughout Europe in the Baltic states, North Europe, Central, Southern and Western Europe and across the Palaearctic to Kamchatka, Japan, China and India. Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands.
External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera Wing length 6 ·5–8 mm. Eyes patterned with conspicuous black spots and hairy all over in both sexes. Tergites black with green or other reflections. Tergites 2 and 3 with a dull spot. Male eyes well separated on frons. Thoracic dorsum with five grey stripes. The male genitalia and larva are figured by Pérez-Bañón et al. (2003). The larva is figured by Hartley (1961)
Habitat is wetland, fen, river and pond margins. Anthropophilic and occurring where stock is pastured, along polluted ditches and in the vicinity of slurry pits. Flowers visited include white umbellifers, Achillea millefolium, Allium, Armeria maritima, Bellis perennis... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 4 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 5 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 7 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 8 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sighting in Brussels on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 295th most-seen of the 337 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly in Brussels on a given day, against under 5% in September to June, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 8
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sightings, Brussels ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in London (United Kingdom, about 10%), Birmingham (United Kingdom, under 5%) and Rotterdam [The Hague] (Netherlands, under 5%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly that you can see in Brussels (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Marmalade Hover Fly (about 20%), Common Drone Fly (about 20%) and Yellow-Haired Sun Fly (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Brussels (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.
