Bombus impatiens
In 3 days ~90% in a week >90%
Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumblebee, is the most commonly encountered bumblebee across much of eastern North America. They can be found in the Eastern temperate forest region of the eastern United States, southern Canada, and the eastern Great Plains. They are adapted to suburban and urban environments, and as a pollinator species in commercial use by the greenhouse industry. This increase consequently led to their farther spread outside their previous distribution range. They are considered one of the most important species of pollinator bees in North America.
The generic epithet (the first part of the name) Bombus comes from the genus Bombus, which is also commonly known as bumblebee and belongs to the tribe Bombini. The specific name (the latter half of its scientific name) may come from the flowers of the genus Impatiens, which is one of its food sources.
Including B. impatiens, the genus Bombus contains 250 species and most species are characterized by their eusociality or parasitic nature. Specifically, the genus Bombus has 49 subgenera, and B. impatiens belongs to the subgenus Pyrobombus. B. impatiens is also of the order Hymenoptera and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 50% of wildlife watchers report a Common Eastern Bumble Bee sighting in Boston on a given day, based on 7,945 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the most-seen of the 1200 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 90%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August to October
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Common Eastern Bumble Bee in Boston on a given day, against under 5% in January to March, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Eastern 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.
2nd of 15
Of the 15 cities where we can rate Common Eastern Bumble Bee sightings, Boston ranks 2nd at about 50%. The best odds are in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 60%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Common Eastern Bumble Bee that you can see in Boston (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Brown-Belted Bumble Bee (about 30%), Two-Spotted Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Golden Northern Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Eastern Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Boston (7,945 verified sightings), 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.
