US Edition5.5 Million Bees Found Nesting Under an Ithaca Cemetery
Researchers said the colony is one of the largest ever recorded and may support nearby apple orchards through pollination.
- Cornell University researchers discovered an estimated 5.5 million ground-nesting Andrena regularis bees beneath East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, New York. Published in Apidologie, the study identifies the site as one of the largest and oldest known bee aggregations globally.
- East Lawn Cemetery provides a stable, undisturbed environment serving as a vital refuge for native species. Researchers noted burial sites act as "sentinels of biodiversity where the dead protect the living," protecting species from urban development.
- The team used mesh emergence traps to measure population density, estimating over 800 bees per square meter. This concentration equals the activity of between 140 to 270 honey bee hives in just one hectare.
- These solitary bees are highly efficient pollinators for local crops like apples and blueberries. Activity surges as temperatures rise above 68 degrees Fahrenheit, with bees emerging in early spring to feed and mate.
- Senior author Bryan Danforth warned that losing these nest sites could destroy 5.5 million important pollinators instantly. The discovery highlights the urgent need to protect such aggregations, which remain understudied compared to hive-dwelling counterparts.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Beneath this cemetery, 5.5 million wild bees form a giant underground city vital to spring pollination
To save money, Rachel Fordyce parked her car for free at Ithaca's East Hill Plaza and walked through East Lawn Cemetery to her job as a technician in an entomology lab on Cornell's campus. One spring day in 2022, she walked in to work with a jar full of bees.
Over 5 Million Bees Were Discovered Under a New York Cemetery. Scientists Think It's One of the Largest Populations Ever
Researchers have found more than five million bees living under a cemetery in Ithaca, N.Y. It's thought to be one of the largest bee aggregations ever.
Researchers at Cornell University have come across one of the largest bee populations in the world. Around 5.5 million animals live under a cemetery in the state of New York: Why this is not so unusual.
5.5 million bees found living beneath New York cemetery
Researchers out of Cornell University have discovered one of the largest and oldest bee colonies ever recorded underneath a cemetery in New York. What's happening? Scientists and entomologists have known for nearly 90 years that bees have taken up residence in Ithaca's East Lawn Cemetery, but until recently, no good estimates existed for how many bees actually lived there, per Scientific American. Now, in a new study published in the peer-review…
A cemetery in New York hides under ground one of the largest concentrations of registered bees.The finding highlights how these insects survive in urban environments.The East Lawn Cemetery, in Ithaca, New York, houses under its surface an estimated population of 5.5 million bees of the species Andrena regularis.The data comes from a study by Cornell University, published on Monday 13 in the magazine Apidologie.The magnitude surprises by the type…
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