Bombus impatiens
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumblebee, is the most commonly encountered bumblebee across much of eastern North America. They can be found in the Eastern temperate forest region of the eastern United States, southern Canada, and the eastern Great Plains. They are adapted to suburban and urban environments, and as a pollinator species in commercial use by the greenhouse industry. This increase consequently led to their farther spread outside their previous distribution range. They are considered one of the most important species of pollinator bees in North America.
The generic epithet (the first part of the name) Bombus comes from the genus Bombus, which is also commonly known as bumblebee and belongs to the tribe Bombini. The specific name (the latter half of its scientific name) may come from the flowers of the genus Impatiens, which is one of its food sources.
Including B. impatiens, the genus Bombus contains 250 species and most species are characterized by their eusociality or parasitic nature. Specifically, the genus Bombus has 49 subgenera, and B. impatiens belongs to the subgenus Pyrobombus. B. impatiens is also of the order Hymenoptera and... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Common Eastern Bumble Bee sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 926 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 5th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Common Eastern Bumble Bee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February and November, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common Eastern 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 6 parks where we can rate Common Eastern Bumble Bee sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 40%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Common Eastern Bumble Bee that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Two-Spotted Bumble Bee (about 10%), Brown-Belted Bumble Bee (about 10%) and American Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common Eastern Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (926 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.
