Bombus terricola
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
Bombus terricola, the yellow-banded bumble bee, is a species of bee in the genus Bombus. It is native to southern Canada and the east and midwest of the United States. It possesses complex behavioral traits, such as the ability to adapt to a queenless nest, choose which flower to visit, and regulate its temperature to fly during cold weather. It was at one time a common species, but has declined in numbers since the late 1990s, likely due to urban development and parasite infection. It is a good pollinator of wild flowers and crops such as alfalfa, potatoes, raspberries, and cranberries.
B. terricola belongs to the order Hymenoptera, which consists of ants, bees, wasps, and sawflies. B. terricola belongs to the family Apidae, which encompasses bumble bees, honey bees, stingless bees, and more. Within this, it is part of the genus Bombus, which consists of bumble bees. Kirby first defined this species in 1837. Bombus occidentalis has been speculated to be a subspecies of B. terricola, but most experts now agree that it is its own distinct species. B. terricola is also closely related to B. affinis both phylogenetically and in terms of pheromone signalling... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Gros Morne National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Elk Island National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee sighting in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 30th most-seen of the 104 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
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee in Riding Mountain National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months. That is one of Riding Mountain National Park's wettest months, with about 70 mm of rain against 20 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-Banded 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 Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee sightings, Riding Mountain National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Cape Breton Highlands National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Yellow-Banded 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 Yellow-Banded Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Riding Mountain National Park (20 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.
