Hermetia illucens
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Hermetia illucens, known colloquially as the black soldier fly, is a widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae. Black soldier fly larvae are commonly utilized in composting systems due to their ability to rapidly break down food waste. In recent years, H. illucens has increasingly been gaining attention because of its hyperaccumulation of protein and fats via consumption of renewable substrates.
This species is native to the Neotropical realm, but in recent decades has spread across all continents, becoming virtually cosmopolitan. It is present in parts of North America and Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy, Croatia, Malta, the Canary Islands, and Switzerland, and on the Black Sea coast of Russia in Krasnodar.
It can also be found in the Afrotropical realm, the Australasian realm, the east Palaearctic realm, the Nearctic realm, North Africa, Southern Africa, and the Indomalayan realm, including South Asia such as India and Pakistan.
The adults of H. illucens measure about 16 millimetres (5⁄8 in) long. These medium-sized flies have a predominantly black body, with metallic reflections ranging from blue to green on the... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cần Thơ | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 2 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 3 | Raipur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Monrovia | 🇱🇷 Liberia | |
| 5 | Thrissur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Nanchang | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 8 | Tiruppur | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Thiruvananthapuram | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Tasikmalaya | 🇮🇩 Indonesia |
No species of the same family or order lives in Yasuní National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other insects.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black Soldier Fly sighting in Yasuní National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 140th most-seen of the 203 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black Soldier Fly in Yasuní National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, July, September–October and December–February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black Soldier 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.
9th of 26
Of the 26 parks where we can rate Black Soldier Fly sightings, Yasuní National Park ranks 9th at about 10%. The best odds are in Henri Pittier National Park (Venezuela, about 20%), Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 10%) and Ostional Wildlife Refuge (Costa Rica, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black Soldier Fly is recorded against all the insects logged in Yasuní National Park (6 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.
