Milesia crabroniformis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Milesia crabroniformis is a species of flower flies or hoverflies belonging to the family Syrphidae subfamily Eristalinae. This species is mainly present in Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, in the Near East and in North Africa.
The adults of Milesia crabroniformis grow up to 22–25 millimetres (0.87–0.98 in) long. These rather uncommon hoverflies are the largest among the European species. They show a yellow face, reddish femurs, a yellow-brown abdomen and its wings are shaded with yellow-orange. Eyes of males are holoptic, although they meet along the dorsal length of the head in a very low point of contact.
They mimic the hornet species Vespa crabro (hence the Latin name crabroniformis, meaning ‘hornet-formed’). It is also very similar to Volucella zonaria, a smaller syrphid. Adults can mainly be encountered from June through October, with a peak at the end of August. They inhabit evergreen and deciduous forests (Quercus and Fagus species), feeding on nectar of flowers of several plants (Apiaceae species, Lythrum salicaria, Mentha aquatica, Sambucus ebulus, Hedera species, Cirsium species, etc.).
Their... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porto | 🇵🇹 Portugal |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Milesia crabroniformis sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 325th most-seen of the 597 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–September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Milesia crabroniformis in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October and December–July, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Milesia crabroniformis sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Milesia crabroniformis sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Cévennes National Park (France, about 10%) and Pyrénées National Park (France, about 10%).
Same family: Syrphidae
The closest relatives of the Milesia crabroniformis that you can see in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (family Syrphidae, Hover Flies) are Common Drone Fly (about 10%), Volucella elegans (about 10%) and Tapered Drone Fly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Milesia crabroniformis is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (10 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.
