Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program: Missouri
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Native bees have declined markedly in recent decades with habitat loss and land use intensification highlighted as leading factors. The US Farm Bill has invested in a range of incentive-based conservation programs on agricultural land to mitigate recent bee declines while providing multiple other benefits for agriculture and surrounding environments. However, documentation that these programs have achieved their desired outcome of increasing wild native bees in the landscape is needed. Our goal is to monitor wild native bees (both bumble bees and solitary bees) in Farm Bill conservation plantings in Missouri to demonstrate the efficacy of existing Farm Bill practices and inform recommendations for adaptations to improve the program.