AUSTIN (KXAN) — Rather than sniffing out treats, this group of dogs is tracking down bumblebees in Texas as part of a new conservation program.
The conservation canines are part of a new program from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation that aims to conserve native pollinators and restore prairies across the Lone Star State.
The dogs are trained to find bumblebee nests in the ground, according to the foundation. Locating the nests will help researchers learn about habitat needs for bumblebees, understand threats to the pollinators and inform conservation planning.
Darwin’s Bee Dogs, the group partnering with the foundation, trains canines to find bees for conservation research. Founder Jacqueline Staab said German short-haired pointers are great for this work because they will work all day and work independently.
“I can be wherever, and they will stay pointed at the nest as long as I need to,” Staab said.
Dr. Hannah Gray, a Texas Parks and Wildlife invertebrate biologist, said the loss of American bumblebees in Texas is largely due to habitat loss and environmental stressors like climate change and pesticide use.
Gray hopes the bee-sniffing dogs can help locate nests because few bee researchers have found nests themselves.
“We are working on understanding what the bee needs to persist in the landscape so that we can conserve it for future generations,” Gray said.
Researchers hope to also use the dogs to find the variable cuckoo bumblebee — one of the rarest bee species in North America, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These bees have been confirmed only a few times in recent decades.
Saving the Texas bees
The TPWF’s Pollinators & Prairies program is working to increase prairie habitat and pollinator populations including bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds. The program also encourages Texans to plant native grasses and wildflowers and funds research for pollinator management.
A 2024 report from Texas A&M University’s Natural Resources Institute found about 1,000 acres are lost every day in Texas due to land development and fragmentation — largely driven by rapid growth and rising land values.
“I think a lot of Texans know that our pollinators—our bees, our butterflies, our moths—are in decline, but I’m not sure they make the connection that it has everything to do with habitat loss,” said Iliana Pena, the program’s conservation director.
Pena hopes the new program can better explain the loss of native pollinators and encourage Texans to help.
“We can all be part of the solution. You don’t have to be a landowner with lots of land. You can own a home and just decide to plant a native plant,” Pena said.