Bombus citrinus
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Bombus citrinus is a species of bumblebee known commonly as the lemon cuckoo bumblebee due to its lemon-yellow color. It is native to eastern North America. This is a cuckoo bumblebee, one that invades the colonies of other bumblebees, kills the resident queen, and takes control over the population of workers inside. Host bees for this species include the common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and the half-black bumblebee (B. vagans).
Before the queen invades a nest she forages on various plants, such as asters, thistles, snakeroots, blazing-stars, mountain-mints, and goldenrods. Bombus citrinus belongs to the parasitic Bombus subgenus Psithyrus. A previous classification had Psithyrus listed as its own genus, and so this species used to be identified as Psithyrus citrinus. Members of Psithyrus are distinguished from other Bombus based on an abdomen with thick tergites, a long stinger, enlarged mandibles, loss of corbiculae, no worker castes, and a reduction in wax glands and its production; all of these features are associated with being inquiline parasites that replace host queens. Of the other species within this subgenera it is most closely related to Bombus... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee sighting in Washington on a given day, based on 67 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 386th most-seen of the 1807 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.
July
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee in Washington on a given day, against under 5% in August to June, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 9
Of the 9 cities where we can rate Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee sightings, Washington ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (United States, about 20%), Philadelphia (United States, about 10%) and New York City (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Lemon Cuckoo 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 Lemon Cuckoo Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Washington (67 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.
