Rare bee species discovered at SUNY ESF orchard

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) -- A rare bee species was spotted in Syracuse for the first time at a SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry research station.

In July, ESF pollinator ecologist Molly Jacobson collected two specimens of the chestnut mining bee, scientifically known as Andrena rehni, from native American chestnut trees.

Jacobson's findings marked the first confirmed sighting of the species in Central New York and only the second known population in the state.

The chestnut mining bee is a solitary ground-nesting species and known to be a pollen specialist that relies exclusively on chestnut and chinquapin flowers. The survival of the rare bee is closely tied to the presence of these trees, which saw a large decrease after chestnut blight, a fungus, wiped them out in th