Trichopoda pennipes
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Trichopoda pennipes is a species of feather-legged fly in the dipteran family Tachinidae. This species is native to North America (United States, Mexico), Hawaiian Islands and South America and has been introduced into southern Europe (France, Italy and Spain).
This species inhabits grasslands, hedge rows and crops where its key hosts are present. Trichopoda pennipes can reach a length of 10.5 millimetres (0.41 in), about the size of a large housefly. These medium-sized flies have a velvety, black head. The black or brown thorax shows a few yellow stripes. Eyes are large, brown with yellow between. The color of the slender abdomen varies from bright orange to completely black. Females usually have a dark-tipped abdomen, while males have a dark orange apex. Wings are transparent, smoky with prominent veins. In the females they are evenly dusky, with the posterior margin sub-hyaline. Male flies have a ferrugineous marking on the wings. This fly has huge halteres. Legs are black, with yellow feet. The hind legs bear a prominent feather-like fringe of flattened hairs.
Trichopoda pennipes first appears in the late spring... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Feather-Legged Fly sighting in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 630th most-seen of the 723 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.
August and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Swift Feather-Legged Fly in Shenandoah National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to July, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swift Feather-Legged 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.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Swift Feather-Legged Fly sightings, Shenandoah National Park has the highest daily chance: under 5%. Next come Great Smoky Mountains National Park (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Tachinidae
The closest relatives of the Swift Feather-Legged Fly that you can see in Shenandoah National Park (family Tachinidae, Tachinid Flies) are Cordyligaster septentrionalis (about 10%) and Juriniopsis adusta (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swift Feather-Legged Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Shenandoah National Park (5 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.
