Bombus vagans
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The half-black bumblebee (Bombus vagans) is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in North America, its range extending from Ontario to Nova Scotia and southward to Georgia. An endemic subspecies of this bee, known as Bolster's bumblebee (B. vagans ssp. bolsteri), occurs on the eastern Canadian island of Newfoundland.
Bombus vagans is a common species of bumblebee with a medium-length tongue. The head, thorax and first two segments of the abdomen are yellow, while the rest of the abdomen is black. The face has a mixture of yellow and black hair,s and the thorax is densely clad in shaggy yellow hair except for a smooth central portion which is bare and shiny. The first two abdominal segments bear yellow hairs, and the remainder of the abdomen is clad in black hairs. The underside of this bee and the legs are black. Similar species with which it can be confused include Bombus sandersoni (which is slightly smaller), Bombus perplexus, Bombus impatiens and Bombus affinis.
This bee comes out from hibernation quite late in the year, with the first queens being seen in early May in Maine, and workers being on the wing from June to August. but in more southerly... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Half-Black Bumble Bee sighting in Boston on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 738th most-seen of the 1200 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Half-Black Bumble Bee in Boston on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Half-Black 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.
4th of 5
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Half-Black Bumble Bee sightings, Boston ranks 4th at under 5%. The best odds are in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 10%), Edmonton (Canada, under 5%) and Calgary (Canada, under 5%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Half-Black Bumble Bee that you can see in Boston (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Common Eastern Bumble Bee (about 50%), Brown-Belted Bumble Bee (about 30%) and Two-Spotted Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Half-Black Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Boston (10 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.
