Lapposyrphus lapponicus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Lapposyrphus lapponicus (Zetterstedt, 1838), the common loopwing aphideater (in North America) or Lapland syrphid fly (in Europe), is a common species of syrphid fly observed across the Northern Hemisphere. The adults are commonly found on flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein rich pollen. Larvae feed on aphids. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 4 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 10 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Loopwing Aphideater sighting in Glacier National Park on a given day, based on 38 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 147 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Common Loopwing Aphideater in Glacier National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months. Those are among Glacier National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 80 mm in February.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Loopwing Aphideater sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Common Loopwing Aphideater sightings, Glacier National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Kluane National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Common Loopwing Aphideater that you can see in Glacier National Park (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Common Drone Fly (about 20%), White-Bowed Smoothwing (about 10%) and Black-Margined Flower Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Loopwing Aphideater is recorded against all the insects logged in Glacier National Park (38 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
