Bombus campestris
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Bombus campestris is a very common cuckoo bumblebee found in most of Europe. The bumblebee is of medium length, the queen having an average length of 18 mm (0.7 in), and the male 15 mm (0.6 in). The fur of the queen is quite thin on the dorsal (upper) side. The collar, and in some cases the top of the head, is orange-yellow, while the terga (abdominal segments) 3–5 have yellow sides with a black centre; the rest of the body is black. The fur of the male is more variable: A pale form exists, with a broad, pale yellow collar, yellow hairs on top of the head, pale hairs on the sides of the otherwise black first tergite, a yellow line along the posterior rim, terga 3–6 pale yellow, usually with a black, thin, centre line. As for the queen, the rest of the body is black. The dark form is entirely black except for a thin, diffuse band on the collar and yellow hairs on the sides of terga 4–6. Intermediate forms exist. Both queens and males can be melanistic. In western Scotland, the subspecies B. c. swynnertoni is found, with a queen with an almost entirely pale yellow thorax, yellow hairs on terga 1 and 2, and a yellow tail. The male has more black on the thorax, but a lot... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 2 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 3 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 4 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 5 | Saint Petersburg | 🇷🇺 Russia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Field Cuckoo Bumble Bee sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 22 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 248th most-seen of the 1115 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Field Cuckoo Bumble Bee in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to April, the lowest months.
Between 3 and 6 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Field Cuckoo Bumble Bee 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 Field Cuckoo Bumble Bee sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Wadden Sea National Park (Germany, under 5%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Field Cuckoo Bumble Bee that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Common Carder Bumble Bee (about 20%), Early Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Red-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Field Cuckoo Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (22 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.
