Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly

Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly

Eristalinus sepulchralis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Wadden Sea National Park

In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%

5 Verified sightings at Wadden Sea National Park From 2019 to 2026
20 In all 2 parks
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly

Eristalinus sepulchralis is a European species of hoverfly. The species are brownish-white from a close up, and look like a wasp. From a distance though, they are yellowish-black coloured, and look like a bumble bee. The species can be found throughout Europe in the Baltic states, North Europe, Central, Southern and Western Europe and across the Palaearctic to Kamchatka, Japan, China and India. Finland, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands.

External images For terms see Morphology of Diptera Wing length 6 ·5–8 mm. Eyes patterned with conspicuous black spots and hairy all over in both sexes. Tergites black with green or other reflections. Tergites 2 and 3 with a dull spot. Male eyes well separated on frons. Thoracic dorsum with five grey stripes. The male genitalia and larva are figured by Pérez-Bañón et al. (2003). The larva is figured by Hartley (1961)

Habitat is wetland, fen, river and pond margins. Anthropophilic and occurring where stock is pastured, along polluted ditches and in the vicinity of slurry pits. Flowers visited include white umbellifers, Achillea millefolium, Allium, Armeria maritima, Bellis perennis... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Fertő-Hanság National Park 🇭🇺 Hungary
~10%
2 Wadden Sea National Park 🇩🇪 Germany
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 London 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
~10%
2 Birmingham 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
3 Rotterdam [The Hague] 🇳🇱 Netherlands
<5%
4 Brussels 🇧🇪 Belgium
<5%
5 Liverpool 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
<5%
6 Warsaw 🇵🇱 Poland
<5%
7 Helsinki 🇫🇮 Finland
<5%
8 Paris 🇫🇷 France
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly in Wadden Sea National Park?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sighting in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 699th 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 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly in Wadden Sea National Park?

May

In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly in Wadden Sea National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June to April, the lowest months. That is one of Wadden Sea National Park's driest months, with about 45 mm of rain against 140 mm in November.

What time of day is best to see a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly?

Between 2 and 5 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Wadden Sea National Park the best place to see a Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly?

2nd of 2

Of the 2 parks where we can rate Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sightings, Wadden Sea National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Fertő-Hanság National Park (Hungary, about 10%).

Where does the Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Small Spotty-Eyed Drone Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Wadden Sea 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.

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