Millions of Bees Have Thrived Under a New York Cemetery for More Than a Century

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Discovery of 5.5 million subterranean bees (Andrena regularis) in East Lawn Cemetery, Ithaca, New York, published in Apidologie.
The colony, spanning 1.25 acres, supports pollination in nearby orchards and highlights cemeteries as urban biodiversity refuges.
Traps placed in 2023 estimated 3-8 million bees, revealing their biology: males emerge before females, and they winter as adults underground.
Findings stress the need to protect wild bee nesting sites from urban development through a global citizen science initiative.

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