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📰 The quick summary: Scientists at Cornell University have discovered roughly 5.6 million ground-nesting mining bees thriving beneath a New York cemetery for nearly a century, offering a powerful clue for how to better protect wild pollinators.
📈 One key stat: Researchers counted an average of 853 bees per square meter at the site, equivalent to more than 200 honeybee hives packed into just 1.5 acres, underscoring how densely wild pollinators can concentrate in undisturbed soil.
💬 One key quote: Cornell entomologist Bryan Danforth warned, “These populations are huge, and they need protection.”

1️⃣ The big picture: Beneath a quiet cemetery in Ithaca, New York, scientists have uncovered one of the largest known aggregations of ground-nesting bees ever recorded, with an estimated 5.6 million regular mining bees living just below the surface. Researchers from Cornell University have uncovered one of the largest known aggregations of ground-nesting bees ever recorded beneath a quiet cemetery in Ithaca, New York, with an estimated 5.6 million regular mining bees living just below the surface. Cornell University researchers spent weeks in spring 2023 using emergence traps to study the insects, identifying the dominant species as Andrena regularis, a solitary bee in which each female digs her own underground nest. Records of the species at the site trace back to as early as 1935, suggesting the population may have persisted there for roughly 90 years. The cemetery’s sandy soil, limited pesticide use, and generally undisturbed ground appear to have given these bees the stable habitat they need to flourish. The study, published in the journal Apidologie, highlights how much pollinator life can exist hidden in plain sight.

2️⃣ Why is this good news: Finding a colony of this scale in an ordinary urban cemetery shows that wild pollinators can thrive when given undisturbed, pesticide-light land, and that protecting them does not always require major intervention. These mining bees are valuable pollinators for crops like apples, cherries, strawberries, blueberries, and cranberries, and their proximity to Cornell Orchards suggests they already play a meaningful role in local food production. The discovery expands our understanding of where and how wild bee populations establish themselves, giving conservationists new, practical targets for habitat protection. Because 75% of all bee species nest in the ground, sites like this cemetery could serve as a model for identifying and preserving similar hidden refuges across the country. Recognizing the value of low-maintenance green spaces, from old lawns to parks and grasslands, opens up a much larger network of potential pollinator sanctuaries that already exist in communities everywhere.

3️⃣ What’s next: Researchers suggest that other overlooked landscapes, including parks, old lawns, and cemeteries, deserve closer examination for similar hidden bee aggregations. Conservation efforts now have a clearer case for limiting soil disturbance and pesticide use in green spaces near agricultural land. Continued monitoring at East Lawn Cemetery will help scientists understand how climate shifts and seasonal temperature patterns affect the bees’ emergence timing and long-term population health.

Read the full story here: Ecoticias – Scientists find about 5.6 million bees living beneath a New York cemetery for more than 100 years, and the hidden colony could help protect vulnerable pollinators