Bombus terricola
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Bombus terricola, the yellow-banded bumble bee, is a species of bee in the genus Bombus. It is native to southern Canada and the east and midwest of the United States. It possesses complex behavioral traits, such as the ability to adapt to a queenless nest, choose which flower to visit, and regulate its temperature to fly during cold weather. It was at one time a common species, but has declined in numbers since the late 1990s, likely due to urban development and parasite infection. It is a good pollinator of wild flowers and crops such as alfalfa, potatoes, raspberries, and cranberries.
B. terricola belongs to the order Hymenoptera, which consists of ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies. B. terricola belongs to the family Apidae, which encompasses bumble bees, honey bees, stingless bees, and more. Within this, it is part of the genus Bombus, which consists of bumble bees. Kirby first defined this species in 1837. Bombus occidentalis has been speculated to be a subspecies of B. terricola, but most experts now agree that it is its own distinct species. B. terricola is also closely related to B. affinis both phylogenetically and in terms of pheromone signalling... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee sighting in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, based on 17 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 68 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee in Cape Breton Highlands National Park on a given day, against under 5% in February–June and October–December, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-Banded 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.
Yes
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee sightings, Cape Breton Highlands National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Riding Mountain National Park (Canada, about 10%) and Acadia National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee that you can see in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Tricolored Bumble Bee (about 50%), Northern Amber Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Perplexing Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (17 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.
