🌅 Cemeteries Are Refuges for Biodiversity

SOURCE

Hoge et al. (2026)

WHAT TO KNOW

• A new study by researchers at Cornell University estimates 5.5 million bees live beneath East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, New York, spanning an area some 1.5 acres underground. Records show the population has been present at the site since at least the 1930s, making it one of the largest and oldest populations of ground-nesting bees known to science. The species was identified as Andrena regularis (commonly called the “regular mining bee”), a native bee known as a crucial pollinator for the region’s famed apple orchards.

WHY IT MATTERS

• The study highlights the important role cemeteries play in protecting biodiversity, particularly older ones located in large cities. Cemeteries are known to be refuges for insects, plants, birds, and even mammals, as the remoteness, low pesticide use, and general lack of ground disturbances offer the peacefulness and stability many species need to thrive.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• Although honeybees dominate popular discourse, around 75% of all bee species are actually solitary ground-nesting species, like A. regularis. These bees don’t form hives or swarms like honeybees, and nest alone in tunnels they dig underground. Solitary bees also lack the “pollen baskets” found on honeybees, so they drop pollen during each flower visit, making them particularly efficient pollinators. The authors of the present study believe many more large underground networks of bees exist around the world, calling for more work to identify and preserve any such populations.