[WBVC]

Sorry no photo as I didn't have a camera handy.

The bee I saw in my garden was solitary and huge. It was way bigger than biggest honey bee drone I have ever seen and very fuzzy. It's body was pitch black. It had one bright yellow band around its posterior abdomen and a head of similar yellow colouring. It buzzed very loudly as it flew about.
I googled bumble bee but it didn't look like them...to big..long and wide.

Any ideas what it is...did not resemble a wasp or yellow jacket...very round and pudgy looking.

 

[Thershey]

You might google the white rumped bumble bee to see if it matches what you saw. I recently heard a study group from the University if Washington was very ecstatic that one or two were seen in the upper NW last year. Apparently none had been seen for 10 plus years or so the story goes.

 

[WBVC]

Nope..not that...it was bright yellow and pitch black and huge.the entire head was bright yellow. My daughter said she saw one at the barn and that it went into the ground!

 

[WBVC]

Found it...Bombus vosnesenskii...at least that is what it looked like but no indication of size. Who knew that bumble bees got so big. On further reading it appears I encountered an early foraging Queen.