Vancouver Bumble Bee

Vancouver Bumble Bee

Bombus vancouverensis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Vancouver

In 3 days ~10%

5 Verified sightings at Vancouver
496 In all 12 parks From 2019 to 2026
May Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Vancouver Bumble Bee

Bombus vancouverensis, the Vancouver bumblebee, is a common species of eusocial bumblebee of the subgenus Pyrobombus. B. vancouverensis inhabits mountainous regions of western North America, where it has long been considered as a synonym of Bombus bifarius, and essentially all of the literature on bifarius refers instead to vancouverensis. B. vancouverensis has been identified as one of the two species of bumblebee observed to use pheromones in kin recognition. The other is the frigid bumblebee, Bombus frigidus.

Bombus vancouverensis was first described by Ezra Townsend Cresson in the 1878 Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. It is a member of the order Hymenoptera and the family Apidae, which also includes orchid bees, honey bees, and bumblebees. A subspecies, originally named Bombus nearcticus, was named in 1888. B. vancouverensis expresses varying color forms... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~40%
2 Wrangell-St. Elias National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
5 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
6 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
7 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
8 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
9 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
11 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
12 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
2 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Vancouver Bumble Bee in Vancouver?

Rare

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Vancouver Bumble Bee sighting in Vancouver on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 439th most-seen of the 482 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Vancouver Bumble Bee in Vancouver?

Any time of year

In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Vancouver Bumble Bee in Vancouver on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.

What time of day is best to see a Vancouver Bumble Bee?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Vancouver 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.

Is Vancouver the best place to see a Vancouver Bumble Bee?

2nd of 2

Of the 2 cities where we can rate Vancouver Bumble Bee sightings, Vancouver ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Calgary (Canada, about 10%).

Where does the Vancouver Bumble Bee sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Vancouver Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Vancouver (5 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.

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