It marks the first time that the American Honey Producers, the American Beekeeping Federation and researchers have ever held joint conventions.

Sue Cobey is with the Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. She says what’s bringing them together is the desire to solve a global bee shortage.   

"You have good years and bad years but this one seems to be hitting everybody really hard so there’s some kind of need to reach out and help each other. This meeting is really bringing a lot of different groups together and I think that’s kind of the feel of it, it’s very energizing."  

Cobey says reasons for the shortage involve nutrition, pesticides and climate change.

The four-day symposium includes research and industry updates, workshops and a trade show. It ends on Saturday at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento.