Retired K-9 Maple Joins MSU's Efforts to Protect Honeybees

By Andi Anderson

At Michigan State University (MSU), a retired K-9 named Maple is helping researchers safeguard honeybee colonies by sniffing out a dangerous bacterial disease.

Maple, a 9-year-old English springer spaniel, previously worked as a human remains detection dog for the St. Joseph County sheriff’s office, but now, in her retirement, she is part of an innovative effort to protect pollinators.

Maple is working at the Pollinator Performance Center, which focuses on honeybee health. The center is developing a training program for dogs to detect American foulbrood, a bacterial disease that threatens honeybee larvae.

Honeybees and other pollinators have been in decline for years due to factors like disease, insecticides, climate change, and lack of food diversity. As a result, these pollinators, crucial for the pollination of many food crops, face increasing threats.

Handler Sue Stejskal, who has trained dogs for law enforcement and other purposes for over 25 years, has been working with Maple to teach her how to detect the scent of American foulbrood. Maple’s training includes wearing a protective suit, similar to the gear worn by humans in active bee yards, to keep her safe from bee stings.

The project began when MSU professor Meghan Milbrath, an expert in honeybee health, connected with Stejskal. Maple’s impressive skills are helping Milbrath’s lab establish diagnostic tools to monitor bee diseases.

During a recent demonstration, Maple raced between hive boxes and skillfully found the scent clue left for her, signaling the presence of the disease. After detecting the scent, she was rewarded with a Michigan State-branded toy.

This collaboration aims to expand the use of dogs like Maple in the fight to protect bees. MSU plans to train more dogs and share their methods with other teams through a book documenting their work. For Stejskal, the project is especially rewarding, as it allows Maple to continue working and find joy in her later years.

“This is a cool project, and I was over-the-moon excited because my dog would still have joy in her life and would still be able to work,” Stejskal said. The innovative work at MSU offers hope in the effort to protect these vital pollinators and ensure the future of food security.

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