Bombus hortorum
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 London on a given day, based on 79 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 366th most-seen of the 1504 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March to June
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Garden Bumble Bee in London on a given day, against under 5% in July to February, 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 24 cities where we can rate Garden Bumble Bee sightings, London ranks 6th at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Warsaw (Poland, about 10%), Birmingham (United Kingdom, about 10%) and Manchester (United Kingdom, about 10%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Garden Bumble Bee that you can see in London (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Common Carder Bumble Bee (about 40%), Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 30%) 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 London (79 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.
