Bee-Sniffing Dog Helps Conserve Pollinators and Protect Billions in Agriculture
It’s not every dog who can safely sniff out a bee nest, but that’s exactly what Gerty, the German Shorthaired Pointer, is trained to do. She’s a bird dog turned bee dog! Gerty works with Jacqueline Staab, a bee researcher and founder of Darwin’s Bee Dogs, to track down bumblebees in Texas as part of ongoing scientific research and conservation efforts.
But why bumblebee nests? For one thing, Jacqueline says the nests are very hard to find. For another, you wouldn’t think the humble bumblebee is a money maker, but this insect actually provides billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year as a critical pollinator for crops.
Jacqueline explains Gerty’s training and work in more depth when she talked to the Weather Channel.
Gerty works hard and loves her job.
Jacqueline also trained Darwin, who was the first bee dog she trained and the pair worked in Colorado.
He sadly passed away unexpectedly a few years ago likely from complications from a surgery. Darwin was America’s first conservation detection dog to specialize in finding bumble bee nests.
