Bombus vagans
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Half-Black Bumble Bee sighting in Elk Island National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 112 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Half-Black Bumble Bee in Elk Island National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months. Those are among Elk Island National Park's wettest months, with about 80 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in December.
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.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Half-Black Bumble Bee sightings, Elk Island National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Half-Black Bumble Bee that you can see in Elk Island National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Tricolored Bumble Bee (about 30%), Northern Amber Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee (about 10%), 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 Elk Island National Park (11 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
