Latest news with #AmericanFoulbrood
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
This dog used to sniff out cold cases for police. Now she's saving bees.
Equipped with her own tailored bee suit and a hood to cover her floppy ears, Maple - a former police dog - has an important retirement task: helping save thousands of honeybee hives. The canine has spent the past five months sniffing Michigan bee colonies for American foulbrood, a highly contagious bacteria that's fatal to the insects. Maple, an English springer spaniel, uses her extraordinary sense of smell as a 'high-speed screening tool' to prevent beekeepers from having to manually inspect every hive. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. American foulbrood only becomes detectable to humans by smell when it reaches severe infection, at which point the colony risks death, said Meghan Milbrath, a researcher and assistant professor of entomology at Michigan State University. 'She basically just turns all of that effort into a few minutes of her running around sniffing,' Milbrath said of the 9-year-old dog, who works at MSU's Pollinator Performance Center. The ultimate goal is for Maple's work to serve as a blueprint for teaching canines to detect honeybee diseases. It's part of a larger bee conservation effort in a record-breaking year for colony death in the United States, according to a survey by Apiary Inspectors of America, Auburn University and Oregon State University. The losses appear primarily driven by pesticides, pathogens, poor nutrition and pests, Milbrath said. The colony losses, estimated at 56 percent in the year beginning in April 2024, result in an 'increasing challenge to meeting the demand for crop pollination and honey production in the U.S.,' the survey said. Maple follows the paw prints of other 'bee dogs' across the country that have delved into conservation - including Darwin, a German shorthaired pointer in North Carolina; Mack, a retired Labrador retriever from Maryland; and Mack's successor, Tukka, a springer spaniel. Maple's crossover into bee conservation came after she medically retired from police work, said her longtime handler, Sue Stejskal, who is also new to beekeeping. Stejskal said Maple took a misstep and got injured while they were working on a cold case in Canada, forcing her to step away in April 2024 after seven years as a human-remains detection dog. Stejskal retired alongside Maple. Fortuitously, Stejskal was introduced to Milbrath around the same time that the Michigan Alliance for Animal Agriculture opened applications for grant funding. The team at MSU pitched a project on developing beekeeper resources and managing bacterial disease, agreeing that Maple and Stejskal would bring the expertise needed for the endeavor. Although Maple's new 'target odor' is distinct from her previous job, Stejskal said the fundamentals remain the same. Handlers expose the canines to a scent, offer a reward and teach the dog to conduct an action that means they've found the odor they're looking for. In Maple's case, she sits when she detects the smell. But bee colonies introduce many new and exciting smells for a dog's finely tuned nose. Stejskal said she has to train Maple to be familiar and comfortable with the new environment so the pup can focus on the target odor. 'And then the caveat with working around bees is, we had to outfit her,' Stejskal said. Stejskal worked with her daughter-in-law to fashion personal protective equipment for Maple. The duo picked out a children's bee suit and modified its measurements, though Stejskal said they were still perfecting it. Stejskal adjusts the bee suit to match the weather, at times adding a cooling vest, and she ensures Maple takes water breaks when necessary. Maple also wears dog boots to complete the outfit. Stejskal said she and Maple - a family since the dog was 10 weeks old - have enjoyed delving into bee conservation together. 'It's both of our retirement things. She's happy; it works for her,' Stejskal said of Maple. 'I call it work; for her, it's play.' Related Content He builds sand sculptures for joy. A huge carving of Crocs put him on the map. Why we're still obsessed with Lindsay Lohan They once shared recipes. Now her family is going hungry in Gaza.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Health
- Washington Post
This dog used to sniff out cold cases for police. Now she's saving bees.
Equipped with her own tailored bee suit and a hood to cover her floppy ears, Maple — a former police dog — has an important retirement task: helping save thousands of honeybee hives. The canine has spent the past five months sniffing Michigan bee colonies for American foulbrood, a highly contagious bacteria that's fatal to the insects. Maple, an English springer spaniel, uses her extraordinary sense of smell as a 'high-speed screening tool' to prevent beekeepers from having to manually inspect every hive.
NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Apiculture New Zealand: Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure
ApiNZ chief executive Karin Koss said it was 'tough times' for the sector at present. 'We have seen, obviously, the industry contract from close to one million hives to now just sitting at 500,000,' she said. 'So there have been some dramatic shifts in our industry, and that has had an effect on ApiNZ. 'We've seen our income fall year after year as well.' Koss said a potential dissolution of the group was tabled in March, but members voted 'overwhelmingly' for it to find a way through. ApiNZ received $150,000 from the Honey Industry Trust towards the new project to 'regenerate apiculture leadership'. 'Our members have asked us to re-look at a model, find a way to see if there is some sustainable funding, industry-good organisation models that we could come up with. 'And that's exactly what we've set out to do.' She said it was asking members to reconsider its future in light of the project, and they would cast their votes at its annual general meeting in Christchurch on Thursday. Jane Lorimer, president of NZ Beekeeping Incorporated, said the industry was divided into various advocacy and support groups nationally and regionally. Honey exports earned $420 million in the year to June. Photo / RNZ, Sally Round The needs of beekeepers, many of whom were struggling with hive losses due to bee health challenges like varroa mite and American Foulbrood, were being overlooked, under the current advocacy model, she said. She said it met with groups across the spectrum recently to address the issue. 'The problem with Apiculture New Zealand is that it ended up having marketers in the same room as producers, and our needs are quite different,' Lorimer said. 'Last year, all that we all we were hearing from beekeepers was, 'want to be heard'. 'There's not been the communication going back to the beekeepers who are, of course, the backbone of our industry.' Keepers were facing a number of fees and levies within the sector, and to export honey, with many now working below the cost of production, she said. Also a life member of ApiNZ, Lorimer said, while the sector had not been united in the past, it was being explored. 'We see that we really do need to work together in a process for the good of the industry and work as a single unit towards a united industry,' Lorimer said. NZ Beekeepers Incorporated was voluntarily funded by members, she said. ApiNZ chairman Nathan Guy said on social media that it recognised a new model of leadership and representation was needed. 'For various reasons, some have felt that existing bodies do not meet their needs,' he said in a Facebook post. 'However, ApiNZ believes many of these operators would be open to supporting a representative body that delivers meaningful value.' Honey exports earned $420 million in the year to June, largely to the main importer, the United States, according to the Ministry for Primary Industries' Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report. Meanwhile, the responsibility of enforcing the pest management plan for the devastating bacterial disease American Foulbrood was transferred from ApiNZ late last month to the New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity charitable Trust (formerly the AFB Management Agency board), which already collects levies. Koss said it was supportive of the move. - RNZ
