Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly

Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly

Helophilus hybridus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Yekaterinburg

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

11 Verified sightings at Yekaterinburg
11 In all 2 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly

Helophilus hybridus is a hoverfly. It is a Palearctic species. For terms see Morphology of Diptera Wing length 8·5-11·25 mm. Femorae 3 top 1/4 or less yellow. Tibiae 3 pale on basal 1/4 or less. Males tergite 2 large yellow spotsreach the hind margin over their full width. The larva is illustrated by Hartley (1961). See references for determination

Palearctic Fennoscandia South to North France. Ireland East through North Europe and Central Europe (including the Alps) East into Russia and on through the Russian Far East and Siberia to the Pacific coast. Mongolia. Nearctic from Alaska to Nova Scotia and South to Utah.

Habitat: wetlands non-eutrophic pools in fen, poor fen, deciduous woodland and dune slacks, cutover valley bog, fen carr, taiga. Flowers visited include white umbellifers, Calluna vulgaris, Cirsium, Convolvulus, Crataegus, Echium, Euphorbia, Limonium, Lycopus, Mentha aquatica, Menyanthes, Narthecium, Parnassia palustris, Plantago, Pulicaria, Rosa, Rubus, Salix repens, Salix, Senecio, Sorbus, Succisa, Taraxacum, Valeriana.

The flight period is early May to early September. External images Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
2 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Anchorage 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Edmonton 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
3 Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland
~10%
4 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
5 Manchester 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
6 Leeds 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
7 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
<5%
8 Yekaterinburg 🇷🇺 Russia
<5%
9 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
10 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly in Yekaterinburg?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly sighting in Yekaterinburg on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 74th most-seen of the 155 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.

When is the best time to see a Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly in Yekaterinburg?

June and August–September

In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly in Yekaterinburg on a given day, against under 5% in July and October–May, the lowest months. Those are among Yekaterinburg's wettest months, with about 75 mm of rain a month against 25 mm in February.

What time of day is best to see a Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Yekaterinburg the best place to see a Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly?

8th of 12

Of the 12 cities where we can rate Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly sightings, Yekaterinburg ranks 8th at under 5%. The best odds are in Anchorage (United States, about 10%), Edmonton (Canada, about 10%) and Warsaw (Poland, about 10%).

Where does the Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Woolly-Tailed Marsh Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Yekaterinburg (11 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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