Bombus pratorum
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~60%
The early bumblebee or early-nesting bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) is a small bumblebee with a wide distribution in most of Europe and parts of Asia. It is very commonly found in the UK and emerges to begin its colony cycle as soon as February which is earlier than most other species, hence its common name. There is even some evidence that the early bumblebee may be able to go through two colony cycles in a year. Like other bumblebees, Bombus pratorum lives in colonies with queen and worker castes. Bombus pratorum queens use aggressive behavior rather than pheromones to maintain dominance over the workers.
The queen is black with a yellow collar (the band around the front of the thorax), another yellow band on the first tergite (abdominal segment), and red colouration on the tail (terga 5 and 6). The male has a wider yellow collar, yellow colouration on both terga 1 and 2, and a red tail, also. The workers are similar to the queen, but often with less yellow colouration; usually the abdominal, yellow band is more or less missing. The head of the bumblebee is rounded, and the proboscis is short. The bumblebee is quite small; the queen has a body length... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hohe Tauern National Park | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 2 | Cairngorms National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 7 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 8 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 9 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 10 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 12 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Liverpool | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 4 | Leeds | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 5 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 7 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Dublin | 🇮🇪 Ireland | |
| 9 | Amsterdam | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 10 | Munich | 🇩🇪 Germany |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Early Bumble Bee sighting in Vanoise National Park on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 149th most-seen of the 308 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.
May and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Early Bumble Bee in Vanoise National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to April, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Early 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.
5th of 12
Of the 12 parks where we can rate Early Bumble Bee sightings, Vanoise National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria, about 20%), Cairngorms National Park (United Kingdom, about 20%) and Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 20%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Early Bumble Bee that you can see in Vanoise National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Black-Backed Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Alpine Bumble Bee (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Early Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Vanoise National Park (9 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.
