Tapered Drone Fly

Tapered Drone Fly

Eristalis pertinax

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Dublin

In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%

38 Verified sightings at Dublin
495 In all 16 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Tapered Drone Fly

Eristalis pertinax is a hoverfly in the family Syrphidae. It was first described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 1763 and is found in Asia and Europe. Like Eristalis tenax, the larvae of E. pertinax are rat-tailed maggots living in drainage ditches, pools around manure piles, sewage, and similar places containing water with high organic load and low oxygen concentration.

Wing length is 8.25–12.75 mm. Antennomere 3 brown-black. Arista plumose to tip. Tarsi 1 and 2 entirely yellow. Wing with diffusely bordered darkened median band and pterostigma four times as long as wide. Dimorphic (males with triangular abdomen, females with squarish abdomen).

The male genitalia are figured by Hippa et al. (2001). The larva is figured by Hartley (1961). Palaearctic: Fennoscandia south to Iberia and the Mediterranean basin. Ireland, east through Europe to Turkey and European Russia, east to the Urals.

The habitat is wetland, forest, alluvial forest, fen, farmland, suburban gardens and parks. The flight period is February to November. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cairngorms National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
2 Triglav National Park 🇸🇮 Slovenia
~20%
3 Snowdonia National Park 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
4 Aigüestortes National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
5 Bavarian Forest National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
6 Hohe Tauern National Park 🇦🇹 Austria
~10%
7 Pyrénées National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
8 Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
9 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
10 Tatra National Park 🇸🇰 Slovakia
~10%
11 Białowieża National Park 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
12 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
13 Mercantour National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
14 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
~10%
15 Cévennes National Park 🇫🇷 France
~10%
16 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
2 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
3 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~30%
4 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
5 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~20%
6 Brussels 🇧🇪 Belgium
~20%
7 Amsterdam 🇳🇱 Netherlands
~10%
8 Rotterdam [The Hague] 🇳🇱 Netherlands
~10%
9 Dublin 🇮🇪 Ireland
~10%
10 Izmir 🇹🇷 Turkey
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Tapered Drone Fly in Dublin?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tapered Drone Fly sighting in Dublin on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 24th most-seen of the 121 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Tapered Drone Fly in Dublin?

April

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Tapered Drone Fly in Dublin on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Tapered Drone Fly?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tapered Drone 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 Dublin the best place to see a Tapered Drone Fly?

9th of 36

Of the 36 cities where we can rate Tapered Drone Fly sightings, Dublin ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 30%), Manchester (United Kingdom, about 30%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 30%).

Where does the Tapered Drone Fly sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Tapered Drone Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Dublin (38 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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