Bees are important pollinators for over 75% of plant species that require animal pollination, however many native bee species are in severe decline, and conservation knowledge for bees lags far behind that of larger animals such as mammals and birds. This project will focus on forested habitats which cover 80% of the northeastern USA, and on the roughly 380 bee species native to these forests. Researchers will collect field data about bees, as well as DNA from pollen on the bees to identify what species of plant pollen are eaten by bees. A major goal of the project is to determine if forest bees would benefit more from forest plants instead of the flowering meadow plants which are typically planted for bees to feed on. The data gathered will be used to determine what plants forest bees are feeding on and what forest management actions will help bee populations. The researchers will collaborate with The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and the Audubon Society to create a ‘Forestry for the Bees’ conservation. Because >75% of forested land in the northeastern USA is privately owned, and private landowners rank biodiversity as the most important goal for their forests, the Xerces Society will work with private landowners throughout the region to improve bee habitat in forests. In this project, researchers will collect the first comprehensive data on plant-bee interactions in North American forests, using canopy sampling techniques in conjunction with pollen metaba