bees

Animals with Cool Jobs: Maple the Beekeeping Dog

Posted on August 12, 2025 by farlane

Maple the Beekeeping Dog by MSU Pollinator Center

I’m starting a new series about Michigan animals with cool jobs today! 😆

MSU shared this pic of English Springer Spaniel Maple posing for the press at the MSU Pollinator Performance Center saying:

Maple is part of the team at MSU’s Pollinator Performance Center doing critical pollinator research and education. A retired police K-9, she uses her super sense of smell to detect bacteria in bee colonies to help prevent disease from spreading. Currently, beekeepers must manually inspect colonies for disease, but dogs like Maple can identify disease much faster, which could make a big impact on the industry. This project is one of many occurring at the Pollinator Performance Center. Operating since 2021, the center allows MSU to be at the forefront of honeybee and other pollinator research.

You can learn more about Maple & the MSU Pollinator program from MSU Today.

How you can help bees in Michigan

Posted on August 7, 2024 by farlane

Around the Bend by Daniel E. Johnson

I shared this photo on August 7, 2017 with the good news that the number of Michigan honeybee colonies was on the rise, reversing steep declines due to colony collapse disorder. Michigan and the world are for sure not out of the woods with Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) that causes the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, food & a few nurse bees to care the queen & larvae. While reported cases of CCD have declined significantly, beekeepers nationwide reported losing HALF of their colonies in the year ending last April.

Because we still have work to do, I’m happy to share ways that we can help keep flowers blooming & crops growing right here in Michigan. MSU Extension answers the question Should Michiganders keep bees by saying that unless you have the resources to keep your hive healthy, it’s better to focus on helping bees by planting flowers and flowering trees that are good sources of nectar and pollen from the spring through the fall. I’m also really happy that St. Joseph has announced its commitment to become a Bee City USA!

Dig into Daniel’s photos on his Flickr!