Hawk Valley Apiary

10/28/2025

07/30/2025

We had the pleasure of meeting Maple and her handler, Sue, at the Michigan Beekeepers Association spring conference. Scent detection of American Foulbrood is another unique way of keeping honey bees healthy.

Maple is part of the team at MSU’s Pollinator Performance Center doing critical pollinator research and education. A retired police K-9, she uses her super sense of smell to detect bacteria in bee colonies to help prevent disease from spreading.

Currently, beekeepers must manually inspect colonies for disease, but dogs like Maple can identify disease much faster, which could make a big impact on the industry.

This project is one of many occurring at the Pollinator Performance Center. Operating since 2021, the center allows MSU to be at the forefront of honeybee and other pollinator research.

06/09/2025

Crimson clover

05/20/2025

Honey bees pollinate $20 billion worth of crops in the United States each year, including more than 130 types of fruits, nuts, and vegetables. Support the health of honey bees and other pollinators by planting pollinator gardens at home and in your community.

03/09/2025

02/20/2025

Here is the second release of information about the PAm Colony Loss Survey. This is for a general audience, stay tuned today for a document sharing more detailed survey results for beekeepers/survey participants.

Read the press release here: https://loom.ly/sYp-CBw

10/07/2024

Register for the Michigan Beekeepers Association 2024 Fall Conference today!
https://www.michiganbees.org/

10/01/2024

Melanie Kirby, our Fall Conference keynote presenter, is offering a pre-conference webinar TOMORROW! Don't miss her online presentation on "The Importance of Place, Power, & Purpose in Pollinator Stewardship," and be sure to catch her in person at the Fall Conference on October 19!
Register for the webinar at https://www.canr.msu.edu/events/mba-webinar-kirby.
Register for the Fall Conference at https://www.michiganbees.org/.