EARLY DETECTION OF BROOD DISEASES BY TRAINED DOGS

Dogs have an extremely good sense of smell; contact of a few seconds is enough for the dog to detect a smell and distinguish it from others. Trained dogs are able to smell and safely display the first bee larva in a colony to become infected with foulbrood. This is more precise and cost effective than being checked by a bee inspector. The method is non-invasive, as the bee colony does not have to be opened or disturbed. With the detection dogs, we can carry out around 10 times as many tests as are currently performed, or with the same number of tests as today, we would be able to reduce costs by a factor of 10. With the classic inspection for the early detection of these brood diseases, the bees are stressed by the constant proactive opening of the beehives- and there is a certain risk of infection for the neighboring colonies. In the long term, the test method is to be used with trained dogs throughout Switzerland for all around 175,000 bee colonies. FREETHEBEES works closely wigth the responsible Federal Veterinary Office and the cantonal bee inspectorates, as well as the Center for Bee Research. 400