It is now coming to light that Los Alamos National Laboratory using previous research performed by UK-based company called Inscentinel have transformed regular honey bees into bomb detectors. Apparently when the bees come into contact with explosives, their feeding tubs (proboscises) extend. The bees were re-trained as part of a program called the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project during which they received sugar water when they were exposed to dynamite, C-4, and the Howitzer propellant grains used in IEDs in Iraq. The training takes no more than ten minutes.
The process involves placing the bees in a box, a “sniffer box,” into which air is sucked. If explosives are present, the bees will simultaneously extend their proboscises, and a video camera will detect the movement and sound an alarm. Whether the use of these bee boxes is practical or not is still a question. More about the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project can be found in Sniffer bees set to snare suicide bombers
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