Plant diversity is quickly dwindling across the world. That’s put our planet’s pollinators in danger. Pollen contains a variety of nutritional elements that are key to life itself. Not only are global changes affecting pollen amounts, they are also affecting pollen varieties. This means that many pollinators, including bees, aren’t eating the best-balanced diet they need to survive. Understanding how the elemental ingredients in pollen affect different traits in bees, such as their survival, body mass, and ability to protect themselves, could help scientists determine whether and how the scarcity of specific nutrients affects them. And it could lead to new ways of conserving pollinators and the critical roles they play in many ecosystems.