Rhagio mystaceus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Rhagio mystaceus, also known as the down-looker fly, downlooker snipefly and common snipe fly, is a species of fly from the family Rhagionidae. Rhagio mystaceus has an overall dark color, with males growing to 7–9 mm, and females reaching 6–8 mm. The thorax has three dark dorsal stripes. Normally, the center stripe has a very thin, pale line running down the middle. On the abdomen, there are yellowish rings at the posterior of the segments. However, the basal segment on some specimens are mostly yellowish and have a black dorsal and lateral spot.
The wings are patterned, with dark tips. The fly is found in middle and eastern North America, east of the Great Plains. Media related to Rhagio mystaceus at Wikimedia Commons Images Images Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe Fly sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 513th 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.
April
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Snipe Fly in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May to March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Snipe 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.
5th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Common Snipe Fly sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 10%), Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Snipe Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (7 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.
