ITHACA, N.Y. (RFD-TV) — An unexpected discovery at a New York cemetery has revealed an estimated 5.5 million bees nesting beneath just 1.5 acres of land.
Cornell University entomology professor Bryan Danforth joined us on Saturday’s Market Day Report to explain how the discovery began in 2022, when a lab technician noticed unusual bee activity while walking through the cemetery on her way to work.
Researchers returned the following spring to study the population, using traps to count bees emerging from the ground. Their findings estimated between 3 million and 8 million bees, with an average of roughly 5.5 million.
Danforth says these solitary, ground-nesting bees are often overlooked despite their importance to agriculture. His research found that certain native bees can move about four times as much pollen as honeybees on an individual basis.
Danforth added that wild bees also play an important role in pollinating crops such as apples, pumpkins and blueberries.
