Standardized protocol for collecting bee samples for parasite and pathogen data

Internal parasites and pathogens have not been a focus of wild bee systematic data collection efforts to-date but are important to document because they have been strongly linked to bee declines. Here, we provide a standardized protocol for collecting fresh bee tissue samples for generating parasite and pathogen data. The protocol emphasizes appropriate handling and storage conditions and data standards. It can be embedded within bee health monitoring projects or used by individual data collection efforts that aim to generate parasite and pathogen data now and in the future. This protocol is part of a series developed in association with the U.S. National Native Bee Monitoring Network to standardize bee monitoring practices.