Bombus bimaculatus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The two-spotted bumble bee (Bombus bimaculatus) is a species of social bumble bee found in the eastern half of the United States and the adjacent south-eastern part of Canada. In older literature this bee is often referred to as Bremus bimaculatus, Bremus being a synonym for Bombus. The bee's common name comes from the two yellow spots on its abdomen. Unlike many of the other species of bee in the genus Bombus, B. bimaculatus is not on the decline, but instead is very stable. They are abundant pollinators that forage at a variety of plants.
Bombus bimaculatus is in the subgenus Pyrobombus, which is closely related to the subgenera Alpinobombus and Bombus out of the 15 total. Within Pyrobombus, B. bimaculatus is most closely related to B. monticola, B. sylvicola, and B. lapponicus. Additionally, B. bimaculatus can oftentimes be confused with B. impatiens and B. griseocollis, as their colorations are very similar.
Bombus bimaculatus was first described by Ezra Townsend Cresson, an American entomologist, in 1863. Workers look very similar to queens, with the two mainly distinguished by size. Sometimes large workers can be mistaken for... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Two-Spotted Bumble Bee sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 83 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 72nd most-seen of the 822 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.
April and June–July
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Two-Spotted Bumble Bee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to February, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Two-Spotted 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 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Two-Spotted Bumble Bee sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Acadia National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Two-Spotted Bumble Bee that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Common Eastern Bumble Bee (about 40%), 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 Two-Spotted Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (83 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.
