Lapposyrphus lapponicus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Lapposyrphus lapponicus (Zetterstedt, 1838), the common loopwing aphideater (in North America) or Lapland syrphid fly (in Europe), is a common species of syrphid fly observed across the Northern Hemisphere. The adults are commonly found on flowers from which they get both energy-giving nectar and protein rich pollen. Larvae feed on aphids. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 4 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 10 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common Loopwing Aphideater sighting in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 84th most-seen of the 161 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.
December
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Loopwing Aphideater in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, against under 5% in January–May and November, the lowest months. That is one of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks's wettest months, with about 120 mm of rain against 10 mm in September.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Loopwing Aphideater 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 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Common Loopwing Aphideater sightings, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Kluane National Park (Canada, about 20%), Glacier National Park (United States, about 10%) and Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Common Loopwing Aphideater that you can see in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Black-Footed Drone Fly (about 10%) and Large-Tailed Aphideater (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Loopwing Aphideater is recorded against all the insects logged in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (9 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.
