Story perspectives

Cornell Finds 5.5 M Underground Bees, Launches Citizen-Science Drive

5/31/2026

Summary

Story summary

Cornell University researchers estimated about 5.5 million Andrena regularis bees beneath East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, New York.
Lab technician Rachel Fordyce saw the bees in spring 2022 and notified entomology professor Bryan Danforth.
Ten emergence traps deployed from March 30 to May 16 2023 captured 3,251 insects, most of them Andrena regularis.
The researchers started a global citizen-science campaign to log underground bee colonies and protect solitary pollinators.

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Story summary

Cornell University researchers estimated about 5.5 million Andrena regularis bees beneath East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, New York.
Lab technician Rachel Fordyce saw the bees in spring 2022 and notified entomology professor Bryan Danforth.
Ten emergence traps deployed from March 30 to May 16 2023 captured 3,251 insects, most of them Andrena regularis.
The researchers started a global citizen-science campaign to log underground bee colonies and protect solitary pollinators.