Scientists Found 5.5 Million Bees Living Beneath a New York Cemetery

Cornell researchers estimate East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca holds about 5.56 million Andrena regularis bees.

The solitary, ground-nesting bees emerge in early spring and use the cemetery’s sandy soil for nesting.

A brood-parasitic cuckoo bee, Nomada imbricata, also lives among the bees.

The discovery underscores the conservation value of solitary bees and the importance of protecting nesting habitat for crop pollinators.