Ithaca Underground
A casual walk through a cemetery in Ithaca, NY revealed roughly 5.5 million ground-nesting bees packed beneath the soil — one of the densest bee aggregations ever recorded. May 2026.
egg
larva
pollen
honey
empty
Colony estimate
5,500,000
Active foragers
14
Tunnel depth
30–60 cm
Species
C. inaequalis
A casual walk through a cemetery in Ithaca, NY revealed roughly 5.5 million ground-nesting bees (Colletes inaequalis) packed beneath the soil — one of the densest aggregations ever recorded in North America. Reported May 2026.
Ground-nesting bee life cycle