Xyphosia miliaria
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Xyphosia miliaria is a species of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. This species is present in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, and in the Near East. This species occurs in wet meadows, in parks and gardens with the presence of thistles.
Xyphosia miliaria may have a body length of 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) and a wingspan of 15–18 mm (0.6–0.7 in) The thorax and the abdomen are yellowish, sparsely covered with long bristles and the mesonotum is longer than wide. The abdomen is round in males, elongated in the females and the females bear at the end of the abdomen a dark brown, pointed ovipositor. The large compound eyes are orange-red. The wings are decorated with distinctive dark apical and transversal drawings.
The adults fly from May to September feeding on nectar and pollen of various flowering plants. Larvae develop on buds of thistles (Carduus nutans, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium palustre, Cirsium eriophorum). Merz, B. - Faunistics of the Tephritidae of the Iberian Peninsula and the Baleares in Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges.
Norrbom, A. L., Carroll, L. E., Thompson... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 2 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 4 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Thistle Fly sighting in London on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 1109th most-seen of the 1504 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Mottled Thistle Fly in London on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mottled Thistle 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.
6th of 7
Of the 7 cities where we can rate Mottled Thistle Fly sightings, London ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Helsinki (Finland, about 10%), Manchester (United Kingdom, under 5%) and Amsterdam (Netherlands, under 5%).
Same family: Tephritidae
The closest relatives of the Mottled Thistle Fly that you can see in London (family Tephritidae, Fruit Flies) are Thistle Stem Gall Fly (about 10%) and Celery Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mottled Thistle Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in London (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.
