Bombus frigidus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Bombus frigidus, the frigid bumblebee, is a rare species of bumblebee largely found in Canada and parts of the United States. These bees have adapted to their cold environment by being able to keep their internal temperature within a certain range while also being able to expel heat to keep the colony warm. An additional adaptation to the cold is their reduced length of copulation. Also, B. frigidus has developed a relationship with Mertensia paniculata so that the flowers' color signals to the bees when to obtain nectar.
Bombus frigidus was described in 1854 by Frederick Smith in the Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Some species from the Appalachians have been included with this species in the past, but not in newer sources. This bee can be confused with Bombus mixtus and Bombus balteatus. Bees in the family Apidae consist of honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees.
Bombus frigidus have a yellow thorax and T1–T2. T1–T5 refers to the dorsal abdomen of the bee with T1 being closer to the thorax-abdomen division. A black band is present between the wings (the band may not be there for some males... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Frigid Bumble Bee sighting in Banff National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 64th most-seen of the 105 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to July
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Frigid Bumble Bee in Banff National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Frigid Bumble Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Frigid Bumble Bee sightings, Banff National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 40%) and Kluane National Park (Canada, about 30%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Frigid Bumble Bee that you can see in Banff National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Black-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 10%), Vancouver Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Fuzzy-Horned Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Frigid Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Banff National Park (7 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.
