Despite their economic and ecological importance, bees are facing extreme population pressures from factors such as pathogens, pesticides, and habitat loss. Additionally, there are few native bee species whose populations have been thoroughly documented, especially when compared to the wealth of knowledge we as a scientific community have on honey bees. This study fills the research gap on native bee populations by focusing on an initiative implemented by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) called “Protecting NC Pollinators.” This initiative mandates the planting of wildflower seed mixes – creating ‘pollinator plots’ – at all NCDA Experimental Agricultural Research Stations across the state in order to preserve biodiversity. Since 2016, we have surveyed native bee populations at these plots in order to measure the impacts of the plots on native bee populations, their communities and community interactions, and the greater agroecosytem.Through our survey data we have found that native bee diversity and abundance has experienced a general trend of increase across the state as a result of the pollinator plots. However, plot quality characteristics – such as plot cover and diversity – significantly influence the bee community composition.This study will result in the most detailed survey of native bee populations in NC to date and is the first to empirically measure the consequences of planted habitat on native bee populations at the physiological, disease, and community levels simultaneously.
