Bombus vosnesenskii
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
Bombus vosnesenskii, the yellow-faced bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to the west coast of North America, where it is distributed from British Columbia to Baja California. It is the most abundant species of bee in this range, and can be found in both urban and agricultural areas. Additionally, B. vosnesenskii is utilized as an important pollinator in commercial agriculture, especially for greenhouse tomatoes. Though the species is not currently experiencing population decline, urbanization has affected its nesting densities, and early emergence of the B. vosnesenskii has been implicated in the increasing lack of bee diversity on the West coast.
The genus name Bombus – the bumblebee – comes from the Latin word which means a buzzing or humming sound. There are 250 species split into 38 subgenera within the genus Bombus. These subgroups share similar morphologies, despite their varied habitats and behavioral patterns. However, many of the groups are monophyletic based on the distinct genitalia of the male bee. Genetic studies have revealed the bumblebee to be closely related to the sting-less bee and the honey bee.
Bombus vosnesenskii falls into... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee sighting in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, based on 131 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 161 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks on a given day, against under 5% in November to February, the lowest months. That is one of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain against 190 mm in January.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-Faced 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.
Yes
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee sightings, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 30%) and Channel Islands National Park (United States, about 30%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee that you can see in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Indiscriminate Cuckoo Bumble Bee (about 10%), Van Dyke's Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Vancouver Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks (131 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.
