Experts say the bee population is declining, and it's having an impact on agriculture.

Now, UTRGV researchers say they're getting funding to help turn the situation around.

According to a UTRGV news release, the university is one of 10 institutions receiving a combined $5.7 million in funding from the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for the research.

The new research is working to figure out what conditions pollinators like most so we can improve conditions for them. 

Devin Johnston with bee removal service R9 Hive and Honey says commercial bee growers and hobbyist beekeepers continue noticing a big decline. 

Johnston says bees are finding fewer places to find nests in the wild.

Experts believe bees are losing habitat to pesticides, human development and changing temperatures.

“The population of all pollinators across the board has been declining, and that's for not just our friendly bees and butterflies, but also our moths, our beetles, our bats,” Johnston said.

UTRGV is receiving around $300,000 from the USDA funding for their research.

UTRGV biology professor Julie Mustard says faculty and students will go out into the field to see which of the native plants bees prefer.

“People have basically been referring to it as the insect apocalypse because a huge amount of insect biodiversity has been lost,” Mustard said.

Mustard says the results of what they find will help scientists and land managers know what's best to plant when they're restoring the bee habitat in the Rio Grande Valley.

Watch the video above for the full story.