Bombus vagans
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 48th most-seen of the 104 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Half-Black Bumble Bee in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months. Those are among Riding Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
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.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Half-Black Bumble Bee sightings, Riding Mountain National Park ranks 3rd at about 10%. The best odds are in Gros Morne National Park (Canada, about 20%) and Elk Island National Park (Canada, about 10%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Half-Black Bumble Bee that you can see in Riding Mountain National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Tricolored Bumble Bee (about 30%), Perplexing Bumble Bee (about 20%) and Nevada Bumble Bee (about 20%), 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 Riding Mountain 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.
