Megasyrphus laxus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Megasyrphus laxus (Osten Sacken 1875), the black-legged gossamer fly, is an uncommon species of syrphid fly observed throughout North America. Hoverflies can remain nearly motionless in flight. The adults are also known as flower flies for they are commonly found on flowers, from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein-rich pollen. Larvae are unknown. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Legged Gossamer sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 379th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Legged Gossamer in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-Legged Gossamer sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Black-Legged Gossamer sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Acadia National Park (United States, about 10%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Black-Legged Gossamer that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Eastern Calligrapher (about 20%), Margined Calligrapher (about 10%) and Common Drone Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-Legged Gossamer is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (15 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.
