Scaeva pyrastri
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Scaeva pyrastri, common name the pied hoverfly, is a species of hoverfly. These hoverflies are present in most of Europe, the Near East, the East Palearctic realm, the Nearctic realm, North Africa, and the Indomalayan realm. In the UK S. pyrastri is a migrant which arrives in some years in high numbers and in others is almost absent.
Scaeva pyrastri can reach a length of 11–15 millimetres (0.43–0.59 in). This large distinctive fly has three pairs of white comma markings (lunules) on the abdomen, these are yellow on Scaeva selenitica. The face is yellow, with reddish brown antennae. The eyes are covered with hair. Scutellum is brown yellow. The legs are red with a black base of the femur. The male's eyes do touch in the centre of the frons, while in the females they are separated.
The larvae are light green or sometimes pink, with a white dorsal longitudinal stripe. This species can be found in gardens, meadows and wasteland. Adults are common visitors to flowers of Apiaceae (Umbelliferae), but also of rape, honeysuckle and daisies. They fly from April to September, with the peak in July and August. The larvae feed on different... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 4 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 6 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 5 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Athens | 🇬🇷 Greece | |
| 10 | Cologne | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Smoothwing sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 184th most-seen of the 412 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 Eurasian Smoothwing in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. Those are among Mercantour National Park's driest months, with about 55 mm of rain a month against 140 mm in October.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eurasian Smoothwing 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 11 parks where we can rate Eurasian Smoothwing sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Eurasian Smoothwing that you can see in Mercantour National Park (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Pellucid Hover Fly (about 30%), Bumble Bee Hover Fly (about 10%) and Hornet Mimic Hover Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Smoothwing is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (11 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.
