Sphaerophoria contigua
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Sphaerophoria contigua is a species of syrphid fly in the family Syrphidae. It is a predator of aphids. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Globetail sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 8 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.
March and June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Tufted Globetail in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May and July–February, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tufted Globetail sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Tufted Globetail sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 10%), Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%) and Acadia National Park (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Tufted Globetail 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 Tufted Globetail is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (8 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.
