5.5 Million Bees Were Living Beneath a New York Cemetery. Scientists Just Discovered One of the Largest Populations Ever Recorded
Indian Defence Review • • science
Key Points:
- A Cornell University team discovered an estimated 5.5 million Andrena regularis miner bees living underground at East Lawn Cemetery, revealing a rare large aggregation of solitary, ground-nesting bees.
- These bees overwinter as adults and emerge early in spring, timed with the nearby Cornell Orchards' apple bloom, which provides an abundant food source explaining the population's size.
- Researchers used "emergence traps" to capture and estimate the population by counting bees surfacing per square meter and extrapolating over the 6,000 square meters occupied.
- Ground-nesting bees like A. regularis represent over 70% of bee species and pollinate 80% of flowering plants, yet they remain understudied due to their inconspicuous underground lifestyle.
- Cemeteries, protected from development and rich in biodiversity, are increasingly recognized as important urban habitats supporting diverse wildlife, including large populations of pollinators.
