Bombus ruderatus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Bombus ruderatus, the large garden bumblebee or ruderal bumblebee, is a species of long-tongued bumblebee found in Europe and in some parts of northern Africa. This species is the largest bumblebee in Britain and it uses its long face and tongue to pollinate hard-to-reach tubed flowers. Bumblebees are key pollinators in many agricultural ecosystems, which has led to B. ruderatus and other bumblebees being commercially bred and introduced into non-native countries, specifically New Zealand and Chile. Since its introduction in Chile, B. ruderatus has spread into Argentina as well. Population numbers have been declining and it has been placed on the Biodiversity Action Plan to help counteract these declines.
Bombus ruderatus is part of the order Hymenoptera and the family Apidae. B. ruderatus is in the genus Bombus and is one of 239 species of bumblebees, with 23 of those existing in Britain alone. B. ruderatus is part of the subgenus Megabombus, along with Bombus hortorum. B. ruderatus is most closely related to B. hortorum.
The body lengths of B. ruderatus reach about 22 mm (0.87 in) in queens, 16 mm (0.63 in) in workers... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain |
More parks will be added in future updates.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Large Garden Bumble Bee sighting in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 390th most-seen of the 479 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Large Garden Bumble Bee in Sierra Nevada National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May and August–March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Large Garden Bumble Bee sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Sierra Nevada National Park, in our data
Sierra Nevada National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Large Garden Bumble Bee sightings: about 10% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Large Garden Bumble Bee that you can see in Sierra Nevada National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Buff-Tailed Bumble Bee (about 20%), Common Carder Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Vestal Cuckoo Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Large Garden Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Sierra Nevada National Park (5 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.
