Platycheirus albimanus
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Platycheirus albimanus is a common widespread species of hoverfly. A holarctic species its range includes Greenland, Iceland, Britain, mainland Europe, Russia, across Siberia to the pacific coast, the Philippines, Alaska, western Canada and United States.
The larvae feed on aphids on a wide range of plants, shrubs and trees. Adults can be found in flight generally between April and October on the edges of woodland or scrub, heath or along hedgerows where they visit a wide range of flowers.
External images external images For terms see Morphology of Diptera Wing cell bm with a small to rather large bare area (not trichose) Tibiae 1 abruptly dilated shortly before the apex. Metatarsus 1 posterior edge slightly curved. Face in front view, dusted silverish. Tergites with markings silvery or obscure yellow. Extremely similar in appearance to the southern European P. muelleri and the northern European P. nigrofemoratus and P. urakawensis. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-Spotted Sedgesitter sighting in London on a given day, based on 203 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 179th most-seen of the 1504 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and April
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Grey-Spotted Sedgesitter in London on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Grey-Spotted Sedgesitter sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 6
Of the 6 cities where we can rate Grey-Spotted Sedgesitter sightings, London ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 20%), Manchester (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Grey-Spotted Sedgesitter is recorded against all the insects logged in London (203 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.
