Pond Olive

Pond Olive

Cloeon dipterum

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Liverpool

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

5 Verified sightings at Liverpool
12 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
April Best month
🌅 Crepuscular When it's spotted

About the Pond Olive

Cloeon dipterum is a species of mayfly with a Holarctic distribution. It is the most common mayfly in ponds in the British Isles and the only ovoviviparous mayfly in Europe. Males differ from females in having turbinate eyes.

In common with other members of the genera Cloeon and Procloeon, C. dipterum has a single pair of wings. This is also reflected in the specific epithet dipterum, which is from the Latin di-, meaning two, and the Greek pteron, meaning wing, and in his original description, Carl Linnaeus stated Inferiores alæ vix existunt ("smaller wings hardly present").

The compound eyes of C. dipterum show a striking sexual dimorphism, whereby females have lateral apposition eyes, while the males' eyes have an additional dorsal "turban-shaped" parts that function as superposition eyes. These extra eyes are thought to enable the males to locate isolated females in the mating swarm.

Cloeon dipterum is unusual among mayflies in being ovoviviparous, and is the only ovoviviparous mayfly species known in Europe. Females lay eggs 10–14 days after mating, and the eggs hatch as soon as they hit the water. The larvae can survive for months... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Madrid 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
2 Rotterdam [The Hague] 🇳🇱 Netherlands
~10%
3 Amsterdam 🇳🇱 Netherlands
~10%
4 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
5 Barcelona 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
6 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
7 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
8 Essen 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%
9 Paris 🇫🇷 France
<5%
10 Kyiv 🇺🇦 Ukraine
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Pond Olive in Liverpool?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Pond Olive sighting in Liverpool on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 592nd most-seen of the 632 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 Pond Olive in Liverpool?

April

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pond Olive in Liverpool on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Pond Olive?

Between 5 and 8 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pond Olive sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.

Is Liverpool the best place to see a Pond Olive?

6th of 11

Of the 11 cities where we can rate Pond Olive sightings, Liverpool ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Madrid (Spain, about 10%), Rotterdam [The Hague] (Netherlands, about 10%) and Amsterdam (Netherlands, about 10%).

Where does the Pond Olive sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Pond Olive is recorded against all the insects logged in Liverpool (5 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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