Bombus hortorum
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
Bombus hortorum, the garden bumblebee or small garden bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee found in most of Europe north to 70°N, as well as parts of Asia and New Zealand. It is distinguished from most other bumblebees by its long tongue used for feeding on pollen in deep-flowered plants. Accordingly, this bumblebee mainly visits flowers with deep corollae, such as deadnettles, ground ivy, vetches, clovers, comfrey, foxglove, and thistles. They have a good visual memory, which aids them in navigating the territory close to their habitat and seeking out food sources.
Bombus hortorum belongs to the Bombus, or bumblebee, genus. It is one of the six most common bumblebees throughout Europe. Of the six commonest species, only two are long-tongued: B. hortorum and B. pascuorum. Its close relative Bombus ruderatus also has a long tongue, but is much less common. Bombus hortorum and Bombus ruderatus are nearly identical in appearance, but DNA sequence data distinguishes them as clearly-separate species.
This bumblebee has an oblong head and a very long tongue, about 15 mm (0.59 in), and in some cases even 20 mm (0.79 in). The tongue is so long... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 2 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 8 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 9 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 10 | Rotterdam [The Hague] | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Bumble Bee sighting in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 79th most-seen of the 300 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Bumble Bee in Cairngorms National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Garden 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.
Among the best
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Garden Bumble Bee sightings, Cairngorms National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria, about 10%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Garden 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 Garden Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Cairngorms National Park (20 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.
