Bombus melanopygus
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Bombus melanopygus, the black-tailed bumble bee, black tail bumble bee or orange-rumped bumblebee, is a species of bumblebee native to western North America. This bee is widely distributed across western North America, from the Pacific to the Rocky Mountains, and from Alaska to Baja California.
There are two forms of the black-tailed bumblebee: Red form (“red butts,” Bombus melanopygus melanopygus) found primarily in higher latitudes of Oregon and points north, and in the Mountain West Dark color form (Bombus melanopygus edwardsii) is most common in California and southern Oregon
(The second and third abdominal segments are red in northern populations and black in southern; individuals with black segments were previously known as Bombus edwardsii, a separate species. Genetic analyses support the conclusion that the two forms are the same species, with B. edwardsii as a synonym.)
This bumblebee can utilize a number of habitat types, including agricultural and urban areas. It is "one of the few bumblebees still found regularly in San Francisco". It feeds on many types of plants, including manzanitas, Ceanothus, goldenbushes, wild buckwheats, lupines, penstemons, rhododendrons, willows, sages, and clovers. It nests underground or aboveground in structures.
This species is a host to the zombie fly (Apocephalus borealis). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Pacific Rim National Park Reserve | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portland | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Tailed Bumble Bee sighting in Yosemite National Park on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 81st most-seen of the 227 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May and December
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Black-Tailed Bumble Bee in Yosemite National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–March, July–August and October–November, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-Tailed 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.
11th of 13
Of the 13 parks where we can rate Black-Tailed Bumble Bee sightings, Yosemite National Park ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 30%), Pacific Rim National Park Reserve (Canada, about 20%) and Glacier National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same genus: Bombus
The closest relatives of the Black-Tailed Bumble Bee that you can see in Yosemite National Park (genus Bombus, Bumble Bees) are Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee (about 20%), Vancouver Bumble Bee (about 10%) and Indiscriminate 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 Black-Tailed Bumble Bee is recorded against all the insects logged in Yosemite National Park (21 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.
