Little snipefly

Chrysopilus asiliformis

Eats: Other bugs and small animals Flies and mosquitoesGardens and meadows6 legs

The little snipefly is a slim, delicate fly with long thin legs. Its body is dusted grey with dark stripes on the tail end, and its eyes are green. It lives all over Europe.

Lives in

Most of Europe, in scrub, woodland edges, wetlands and gardens

Length

6 to 9 mm (0.24 to 0.35 in)

up to

Top speed

about 8.5 km/h (5.3 mph)

Flying, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless. It is a small, gentle fly.

What does it eat?

Not much is known about what it eats. Its larvae probably grow up in the soil, where snipe fly larvae hunt other tiny animals.

Photo of Little snipefly — Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How long is it?

small enough to sit on your fingernailas long as 1.5 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 44 secondsmoves 260 times its own body length every second

How big is Little snipefly compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)

Little snipefly about 8.5 km/h (5.3 mph)

A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)

A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

It has no bristles on its body, which makes it look smooth and fragile.

Its wings are see-through, with one dark spot near the front edge of each wing.

You can see the grown-up flies from May until September.

you asked

Most asked questions about Little snipefly

?Where does the little snipefly live?

In most of Europe, in gardens, wetlands and at the edges of woods.

?Is the little snipefly dangerous?

No. It is a small fly and harmless to people.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Chrysopilus asiliformis
Named by: Preyssler, 1791
Group: Flies and mosquitoes
Family: Rhagionidae
Classification: Insecta > Diptera > Rhagionidae
Lives on: Europe
Also known as: Little snipe fly

Where the facts come from

Chrysopilus asiliformis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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