A springer spaniel named Maple is making headlines for her role in helping Michigan State University (MSU) researchers identify bacteria that threaten honeybee colonies. The nine-year-old dog, who previously spent seven years detecting human remains for a sheriff's office, now uses her skills to detect American foulbrood, a bacterial disease deadly to honeybee larvae.
Maple retired from law enforcement after an injury, leaving her handler, Sue Stejskal, searching for a new way to keep the energetic dog occupied. Stejskal, who has trained dogs for over 25 years, was connected with MSU professor Meghan Milbrath through a veterinarian. Milbrath's lab studies honeybee health and needed tools to screen for diseases.
Together, Stejskal and Milbrath developed a plan to train Maple to apply her police canine detection methods to beehives. Maple now works at MSU's Pollinator Performance Centre, where she identifies American foulbrood, a disease that can devastate beekeeping operations. Infected hives often require beekeepers to burn equipment, costing tens of thousands of dollars.
Maple performs her duties in a custom yellow protective suit, including a veil and bootees, to shield her from bee stings. Stejskal noted that outfitting Maple required alterations because protective gear for dogs is not readily available. The project also aims to create a guidebook for training other dogs to detect the disease.
Milbrath emphasised the importance of Maple's work amid a years-long decline in bee and pollinator populations due to diseases, insecticides, lack of food diversity, and climate change. For Stejskal, the project has been a perfect solution: “I was over-the-moon excited because my dog would have joy in her life and would still be able to work.”
