Bombus frigidus
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Bombus frigidus, the frigid bumblebee, is a rare species of bumblebee largely found in Canada and parts of the United States. These bees have adapted to their cold environment by being able to keep their internal temperature within a certain range while also being able to expel heat to keep the colony warm. An additional adaptation to the cold is their reduced length of copulation. Also, B. frigidus has developed a relationship with Mertensia paniculata so that the flowers' color signals to the bees when to obtain nectar.
Bombus frigidus was described in 1854 by Frederick Smith in the Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Some species from the Appalachians have been included with this species in the past, but not in newer sources. This bee can be confused with Bombus mixtus and Bombus balteatus. Bees in the family Apidae consist of honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees.
Bombus frigidus have a yellow thorax and T1–T2. T1–T5 refers to the dorsal abdomen of the bee with T1 being closer to the thorax-abdomen division. A black band is present between the wings (the band may not be there for some males... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Kluane National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anchorage | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Frigid Bumble Bee sighting in Kluane National Park on a given day, based on 15 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 11th most-seen of the 39 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Frigid Bumble Bee in Kluane National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and August–September, the lowest months. That is one of Kluane National Park's driest months, with about 50 mm of rain against 160 mm in October. January–February and November have too few records to rate.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Frigid Bumble Bee sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Frigid Bumble Bee sightings, Kluane National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%. The best odds are in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 40%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Frigid Bumble Bee that you can see in Kluane National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Vancouver Bumble Bee (about 40%), Yellow-Fronted Bumble Bee (about 40%) and McKay's Western Bumble Bee (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Frigid Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Kluane National Park (15 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.
