The hidden world of bees. A metropolis of insects discovered under the cemetery

Although at first glance it looks like an ordinary cemetery, underground there is one of the most unusual places related to insects. Scientists discovered there a gigantic concentration of bees – solitary bees, which appear every year in numbers reaching up to 8 million individuals.

This phenomenon was discovered at the East Lawn Cemetery in Ithaca, USA. Researchers from Cornell University described an unusual aggregation of bees of the species Andrena regularis. The discovery was described in the journal “Apidologie”.

A huge concentration of bees in the cemetery

And this is a unique discovery because honeybees are solitary bees, i.e. bees that live alone. They do not build hives or swarms like honey bees, each female creates her own nest in the ground, most often in the form of small burrows.

Scientists point out a certain paradox. It turns out that despite their solitary lifestyle, insects often build nests next to each other. Such clusters are called aggregations and are not a colony in the classical sense because each bee functions separately. However, according to researchers, they can cover huge areas full of thousands or even millions of individual minks.

Scientists also noticed that females are particularly eager to build new nests close to existing ones. Even if there are equally good places further away, the insects choose the vicinity of other bee nests. One possible explanation is odor signals left at existing nests.

A larger concentration than swarms of ordinary bees

According to researchers, the discovered cluster may be the largest known bee cluster in the world. The scale is difficult to imagine. Experts compare them to about 200 honey bee hives practically stacked on top of each other in a small area.

Importantly, insects do not pose a threat to people or the cemetery itself. They do not damage graves and do not weaken the ground. Most visitors don’t even notice their presence.

Bees as a key to nature

Solitary bees play a huge role in pollinating plants. In the Ithaca area they are responsible for, among others: for pollinating strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and apple orchards. Without them, local crops could face serious problems.

Researchers are now trying to determine why the bees chose the cemetery area. One hypothesis is that such places are less exposed to intensive use of pesticides and chemicals than agricultural fields or urban parks. Thanks to this, the soil can be a safer environment for solitary bees to build nests.