Bombus terrestris
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~30%
Bombus terrestris, the buff-tailed bumblebee or large earth bumblebee, is one of the most numerous bumblebee species in Europe. It is one of the main species used in greenhouse pollination, and so can be found in many countries and areas where it is not native, such as Tasmania. Moreover, it is a eusocial insect with an overlap of generations, a division of labour, and cooperative brood care. The queen is monogamous, which means she mates with only one male. B. terrestris workers learn flower colours and forage efficiently.
B. terrestris is part of the order Hymenoptera, which is composed of ants, bees, and wasps. The family Apidae specifically consists of bees. It is also part of the subfamily Apinae. There are 14 tribe lineages within Apinae, and B. terrestris is in the bumblebee tribe, Bombini. It is in the genus Bombus, which consists entirely of bumblebees, and the subgenus Bombus sensu stricto. This subgenus contains closely related species such as Bombus affinis, Bombus cryptarum, Bombus franklini, Bombus ignitus, Bombus lucorum, Bombus magnus, Bombus occidentalis, and Bombus terricola. There are nine recognized subspecies: B. terrestris africanus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Tierra del Fuego National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Aoraki Mount Cook National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 5 | Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 7 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 8 | Maria Island National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 10 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 11 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 12 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 13 | Freycinet National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 14 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 15 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 16 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 17 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 18 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 19 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 20 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 2 | Hobart | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Auckland | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 6 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 8 | Sapporo | 🇯🇵 Japan | |
| 9 | Jerusalem | 🇮🇱 Israel | |
| 10 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 260th most-seen of the 300 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.
April and June–August
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and September–March, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
19th of 20
Of the 20 parks where we can rate Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 19th at about 10%. The best odds are in Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina, about 40%), Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park (Chile, about 40%) and Tierra del Fuego National Park (Argentina, about 40%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee that you can see in Cairngorms National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Mountain Bumble Bee (about 30%), Common Carder Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Early Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms 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.
