Melanostoma scalare
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Melanostoma scalare, the chequered hoverfly, is a very common species of hoverfly. The European Melanostoma species are not well understood at present. Van der Goot is the most certain identification work. The male genitalia of M. scalare are figured by Dusek and Laska (1967). Other, more accessible, works are listed below.
This species is present in most of Europe, the Near East, North Africa, and the eastern parts of the Afrotropical realm south to Zimbabwe and throughout the Indomalayan realm to New Guinea. Melanostoma scalare can reach a length of 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in). These hoverflies have a shining black thorax. The males are longer and slimmer than the females. Also, the male's abdomen is much thinner than that of the female. Further, the yellow markings of the male are roundish or diamond-shaped, while those of the female are triangular patches.
Little is known of its biology, but it is suspected to be general predator of small insects in leaf litter. Adults fly from April to November and inhabit gardens, meadows, and flowering bushes where they feed. The larvae are aphidiphagous. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 8 | Brussels | 🇧🇪 Belgium | |
| 9 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Ladder-Backed Hover Fly sighting in Manchester on a given day, based on 53 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 89th most-seen of the 458 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.
April–May and July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Ladder-Backed Hover Fly in Manchester on a given day, against under 5% in August and November–February, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ladder-Backed Hover Fly sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 17
Of the 17 cities where we can rate Ladder-Backed Hover Fly sightings, Manchester ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 20%) and Liverpool (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Ladder-Backed Hover Fly that you can see in Manchester (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Tapered Drone Fly (about 30%), Marmalade Hover Fly (about 30%) and Common Drone Fly (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ladder-Backed Hover Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Manchester (53 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.
