Bee-Sniffing Dogs Deployed by Texas Parks and Wildlife to Study Habitats

These bee-sniffing dogs are helping gather information about Texas bees (courtesy of Chase Fountain)

Sit, stay, fetch – these are the typical tricks you’d expect from a dog. But bee-sniffing? That’s something new. In a groundbreaking conservation effort, a group of dogs is helping locate bumblebees across Texas.

These dogs are part of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s Pollinators & Prairies program focused on preserving native pollinators and restoring grassland across Texas. The pooches are trained to detect bumblebee nests in the ground and help researchers better understand the bees’ habitat needs, identify threats to their survival, and guide conservation efforts.

Darwin’s Bee Dogs, the organization partnering with the foundation, trains dogs to locate bees for conservation research through scent. Founder Jacqueline Staab said German Shorthaired Pointers are ideal for this task because of their energy, drive, and ability to stay focused throughout the day.

“Once they form that bond with you, they are just like the best little lab partners,” Staab said. “Sometimes we’ll look all day and not find any [bees]. Sometimes we’ll look all week and not find any, but they don’t give up hope. They keep looking, and they just keep working real hard.” Staab is the handler of pups Gerty Cori (named after the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine) and Jane Goodall (named after the renowned zoologist and primatologist).

Training takes about six months, Staab says, focusing on imprinting and behavior shaping. The dogs are trained similarly to bomb-sniffing dogs through positive reinforcement. Trainers associate the smell of bumblebee nesting material with play and rewards, like fetching a toy. Eventually, the dogs learn that the scent leads to treats and play. When the dogs are ready, trainers place the scent in a box with a ball popper – this process turns the scent into a game, with the reward being the ball.

The dogs use a head shift and body turn to indicate where the scent is, pointing with their nose, and sometimes lifting a front leg. Staab says the dogs are trained to avoid indicating a nest too closely to prevent disturbing the bees. Rather, they are taught to point around 4 to 5 feet away from the nest but can move closer if asked.

“I’m working on developing a bee dog army,” Staab said. “I’d like to have [a] science army and help people train their dogs to help find bumblebees and make Darwin’s Bee Dogs a worldwide thing where we can all help contribute and get out there and give people the tools they need to go find bees and appreciate them.”

Iliana Peña, conservation director of TPWF’s Pollinators & Prairies program, hopes these pups will improve the understanding of bumblebee nesting behaviors and potential threats to Texas pollinators. She emphasized that the program is helping to show Texans the importance of working together to support and preserve pollinators and prairies. “We’re hoping, through our outreach and education, that we could get more and more HOAs, community gardens, and community spaces to see the benefit of planting native prairies,” Peña said. “Throughout the spring ... all of us can play a part.”