Texas Parks partners with bee-sniffing dogs
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Jacqueline Staab of Darwin's Bee Dogs and her dog Gerty hunt for bee hives at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios
As the sun crept below the Wildflower Center's Savanna Meadow, Gerty the German shorthaired pointer was hard at work, following the scent of bee nests hidden throughout a field.
Why it matters: Ecologists like Jacqueline Staab, Gerty's handler and BFF, hope bee-sniffing K-9s will help advance our understanding of bumblebee nesting and potential threats to pollinators in Texas.
- Bees build their hives in or on the ground and thrive in Texas grasslands, but rapid development has diminished habitats for bees.
Driving the news: Texas Parks and Wildlife's Pollinators and Prairies Program is partnering with Staab's nonprofit, North Carolina-based Darwin's Bee Dogs, to measure the population of pollinators like the American bumblebee and the rare cuckoo bumblebee in Texas.
What they're saying: "Even though these pollinators are keeping our environments afloat, so little is known" about bumblebee nesting, Staab told Axios.
Between the lines: There are some promising signs for honeybees, which have made a comeback since the colony collapse crisis of the early 2000s.
- In Texas, the number of colonies grew 59.9% in five years, from 5,591 in 2017 to 8,939 in 2022, per data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
How it works: Armed with a neon orange vest, GPS collar, goggles and a brush guard, Gerty found her first nest after just a couple minutes of sniffing.
- She straightened her short tail and pointed her snout in the direction of the hive, remaining still until Staab threw a ball in front of her as a reward.
- Gerty located several other hives over the next 30 minutes, including one that was roughly the size of a penny.
- All of the hives were placed in the field by Staab ahead of time to demonstrate Gerty's ability to locate the nests.
The bottom line: "I'm living my dream," said Staab, who has two bee-sniffing dogs in her Darwin's Bee Dog program. "I've always wanted to help the environment in some way."