It is not an easy task: putting a bee suit on a dog. But on a warm July morning, Sue Stejskal is maneuvering a mesh veil over the floppy ears and sudden movements of Maple, an English Springer Spaniel who is panting with delight as she prepares to show off her skills.
They are at the Michigan State University Pollinator Performance Center on the south side of MSU’s campus. Through a partnership among the Department of Entomology, MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension, the center, which houses a honey extraction facility, is the 15‑acre home to MSU’s pollinator studies, teaching, outreach and many pollinator‑related field experiments.
Just outside the facility, Maple, donning her makeshift bee suit, is about to inspect multiple hive boxes. On this day, no bees are in those hives, but one of them will contain the scent of American foulbrood, or AFB, a spore‑forming bacteria that is highly contagious and destructive for honeybee larvae. Maple’s task is to sniff out the AFB. She zigzags from box to box with Stejskal holding a lead before sitting and lifting a paw in front of a hive.
“Good dog,” Stejskal says, then throws Maple a dog toy. Maple’s snout was successful. She identified the hive with the bacteria. Stejskal, an MSU alum who has worked with many K‑9 dogs throughout her career, is working with a team of MSU researchers to develop training protocols for dogs who detect honeybee diseases in hives and colonies.
The project, which is supported by the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture, could have a wide‑ranging impact. Currently, commercial beekeepers manually inspect hundreds of colonies to search for AFB, which could take days as part of routine inspections. A dog like Maple, however, could sniff out multiple colonies in a much shorter period. AFB can be devastating to colonies, so finding the disease while in its early stages can stop the spread to other colonies.
This project is one of many occurring at the Pollinator Performance Center. Operating since 2021, the center ensures that MSU remains at the forefront of honeybee and other pollinator research. As pollinator health becomes an increasingly urgent global issue, the center plays a critical role in protecting species that help sustain our food systems and ecosystems.
