Rainieria antennaepes
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Rainieria antennaepes is a species of stilt-legged flies in the family Micropezidae found in North America east of the Rocky Mountains. The name "antennaepes" means "antenna foot". They frequently hold their white-tipped front legs up and wave them around in a manner that makes them appear like the antennae of ichneumonid wasps. They feed on detritus, bird droppings, and similar waste.
Rainieria antennaepes is the only member of its genus found in North America. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rainieria antennaepes sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 236th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Rainieria antennaepes in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rainieria antennaepes sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Rainieria antennaepes sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same order: Diptera
The closest relatives of the Rainieria antennaepes that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (order Diptera, Flies) are Eastern Calligrapher (about 20%), Margined Calligrapher (about 10%) and Ocellate Gall Midge (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rainieria antennaepes is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (21 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.
