Bombus pensylvanicus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Bombus pensylvanicus, the American bumblebee, is a threatened species of bumblebee native to North America. It occurs in eastern Canada, throughout much of the Eastern United States, and much of Mexico. Once the most prevalent bumblebee in the southern United States, populations of Bombus pensylvanicus have decreased significantly in recent years, including in its scientific namesake state of Pennsylvania, where its numbers are considered critically low. Overall, the population dropped nearly 90% in just the first two decades of the 21st century.
Bombus pensylvanicus tends to live and nest in open farmland and fields. It feeds on several food plants, favoring sunflowers and clovers, and functions as a pollinator. Bombus pensylvanicus belongs to the order Hymenoptera (consisting of ants, wasps, bees, and sawflies), the family Apidae (consisting of cuckoo, digger, carpenter, bumble, and honeybees), the subfamily Apinae (consisting of honey, orchid, bumble, long-horned, and digger bees), and the genus Bombus (consisting of bumblebees). Within Bombus, B. pensylvanicus belongs to the subgenus Thoracobombus, which includes species such as Bombus armeniacus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Padre Island National Seashore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Orlando | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Bumble Bee sighting in Washington on a given day, based on 228 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 147th most-seen of the 1807 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.
June to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an American Bumble Bee in Washington on a given day, against under 5% in November to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Bumble Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 13
Of the 13 cities where we can rate American Bumble Bee sightings, Washington ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Dallas (United States, about 20%), Austin (United States, about 20%) and Houston (United States, about 20%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the American Bumble Bee that you can see in Washington (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Common Eastern Bumble Bee (about 30%), Brown-Belted Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Two-Spotted Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Washington (228 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.
