Eriocampa ovata
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Eriocampa ovata, known generally as the alder sawfly or woolly alder sawfly, is a species of common sawfly in the family Tenthredinidae. The larvae feed on the leaves of the common alder (Alnus glutinosa) and the grey alder (Alnus incana), sometimes causing defoliation.
The adult female is about 7 mm (0.3 in) long and mainly black, with the exception of the first two segments of the thorax, which are red, and the underside of the tips of the antennae, the inner side of the fore-tibia and the basal part of the hind femur, which are whitish. The head has numerous large puncture marks while the thorax has scattered smaller ones; the abdomen has faint transverse sculpturings. The wings are translucent with black veins. Adult males are unknown in North America, and rare in Europe, the females breeding by parthenogenesis.
The larvae grow to a length of 5 to 7.5 mm (0.2 to 0.3 in). They are white, apart from a brown mark on the head, and are covered with a glossy, white woolly secretion produced by epidermal glands. The alder sawfly is native to Europe, but has been accidentally introduced into North America, both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Helsinki | 🇫🇮 Finland | |
| 5 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 6 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 7 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Alder Sawfly sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 318th most-seen of the 818 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.
June to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Alder Sawfly in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to May, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Alder Sawfly sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Alder Sawfly sightings, Wadden Sea National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Bavarian Forest National Park (Germany, under 5%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Alder Sawfly is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea 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.
