The literature is limited regarding the prevalence and diversity of pathogenic disease in wild bees. For this reason, we must look to managed bees to get an idea about what diseases occur in bees, and how they might affect the population dynamics of their hosts. Honey bee diseases are well documented and include pathogens from every microbial group. The alfalfa leafcutting bee is the second most managed bee, and the main pathogens affecting these bees are fungi in the genus Ascosphaera, which cause chalkbrood. Chalkbrood has also been isolated from wild bees, and may play a greater role in the population dynamics of wild bees than has previously been recognized.