Story perspectives

5.5 Million Underground Bees Found; Citizen-Science Program Launched

6/3/2026

Summary

Story summary

Cornell technician Rachel Fordyce uncovered a 5.5 million-bee underground colony at East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, New York.
The colony consists of Andrena regularis regular mining bees, solitary ground-nesters that have inhabited the site since the early 1900s.
If they were honeybees, the population would equal more than 200 hives on the cemetery’s 1.5-acre grounds.
Researchers launched a global citizen-science program to have the public report underground bee sites for protection.

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Story summary

Cornell technician Rachel Fordyce uncovered a 5.5 million-bee underground colony at East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, New York.
The colony consists of Andrena regularis regular mining bees, solitary ground-nesters that have inhabited the site since the early 1900s.
If they were honeybees, the population would equal more than 200 hives on the cemetery’s 1.5-acre grounds.
Researchers launched a global citizen-science program to have the public report underground bee sites for protection.