Stripe-Legged Robber Fly

Stripe-Legged Robber Fly

Dioctria hyalipennis

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Detroit

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%

9 Verified sightings at Detroit
35 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Stripe-Legged Robber Fly

Dioctria hyalipennis is a Holarctic species of robber fly in the family Asilidae. 10 to 14 mm. The upper head and vertex are shiny black. The lower face has a silvery-white pile. The mystax is white and the short proboscis black. The antennae appears Y-shaped with the segments about equal in length. They are black with short black hair. The neck is obvious and the thorax is raised or humped. It is black with two long indented lines and a faint covering of light yellow pile. Segment 2 (scutellum) is small with a line of yellow pile at the base. The thorax sides have a wide stripe of whitish pollen extending along the thorax down to the front leg.

The wings are hyaline, but appear darker when folded over the body. The veins are brown. Halteres light yellow. The front and middle legs are mostly yellow with black streaks on the top side and dark tips. The feet are black with grey piles and yellow spines and toes. The hind legs are black with a swollen 1st foot segment.

The abdomen is shining black. The lower margin of segments has a thin whitish line. The first 4 male segments are very narrow and constricted (appear wavy); the last few segments gradually widen to the... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Acadia National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Boston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Toronto 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
3 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
4 Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
5 Montreal 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
6 Hamburg 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
7 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
8 Essen 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
9 Detroit 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Seattle 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Stripe-Legged Robber Fly in Detroit?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Stripe-Legged Robber Fly sighting in Detroit on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 181st most-seen of the 268 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.

When is the best time to see a Stripe-Legged Robber Fly in Detroit?

May to July

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Stripe-Legged Robber Fly in Detroit on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Stripe-Legged Robber Fly?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Stripe-Legged Robber 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.

Is Detroit the best place to see a Stripe-Legged Robber Fly?

Among the best

Of the 23 cities where we can rate Stripe-Legged Robber Fly sightings, Detroit ranks 9th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Boston (United States, about 10%), Toronto (Canada, about 10%) and Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%).

Where does the Stripe-Legged Robber Fly sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Stripe-Legged Robber Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Detroit (9 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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