Volucella zonaria
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Volucella zonaria, the hornet mimic hoverfly, is a species of hoverfly. These flies are capable of buzz pollination. This species is present in most of Europe, in Tunisia, Iran, Russia (to Far East) and in Mongolia. In Great Britain, it was only known from two specimens prior to 1940, so was regarded as rare. Since then, it has become increasingly widespread in many parts of the South and South East England, often in association with parks and gardens, where adults are usually seen visiting flowers. Elsewhere in England, only a few scattered records exist.
These hoverflies usually inhabit meadows close to forests. Volucella zonaria can reach a length of 25 millimetres (0.98 in), with a wingspan of about 40 mm. These very large and wide hoverflies have reddish-brown shining thorax with dark brown marks, and a reddish-brown scutellum. The head shows a waxy yellow face, with yellow forehead and antennae. The large ovoid compound eyes are reddish with dense and short hairs. In the males they are very close to each other, so that the forehead is very narrow. The abdomen is reddish yellow, with two wide black bands. The underside has broad... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 7 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 10 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 12 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 5 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | Ankara | 🇹🇷 Turkey | |
| 8 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 9 | Paris | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hornet Mimic Hover Fly sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 103rd most-seen of the 479 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.
August and September
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Hornet Mimic Hover Fly in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hornet Mimic Hover Fly sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Hornet Mimic Hover Fly sightings, Sierra Nevada National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%).
Same genus: Volucella
The closest relatives of the Hornet Mimic Hover Fly that you can see in Sierra Nevada National Park (genus Volucella, Plumehorns) are Volucella elegans (about 10%) and Lesser Hornet Hoverfly (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hornet Mimic Hover Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (17 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.
