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Millions of Bees Nest in Historic Cemetery
29 May
Summary
- An estimated 5.5 million solitary bees discovered in a 1.5-acre cemetery.
- Cemeteries offer quiet, pesticide-free habitats crucial for bee populations.
- This discovery highlights the vital role of ground-nesting bees as pollinators.
In spring 2022, an entomology lab worker discovered a massive aggregation of wild bees in East Lawn Cemetery. These bees, identified as Andrena regularis, a solitary mining species, nest underground. The cemetery, established in 1878, has housed these bees since the early 1900s.
Researchers estimate 5.5 million individual bees occupied a 1.5-acre area, a population density comparable to over 200 honeybee hives. This discovery, detailed in the journal Apidologie, emphasizes the significant value of solitary ground-nesting bees as crucial pollinators for crops and plants.
Cemeteries provide ideal habitats due to their quiet nature, infrequent human activity, and lack of pesticides. These conditions support not only bees but also other urban wildlife. The identified bees emerge in early spring, coinciding with apple blooms, underscoring their importance to New York's significant apple industry.
A global citizen science initiative, Project GNBee, has been launched to help locate and protect other ground-nesting bee aggregations. Researchers stress the vulnerability of these nest sites, warning that their destruction could lead to the loss of millions of vital pollinators.
