An extraordinary invention by a small British company is being praised by American scientists who have been testing it.
Researchers at Inscentinel Ltd, which has just three employees at its Harpenden, Herts, HQ, have developed an amazing "sniffer box" to harness the bees' incredible sense of smell.
Now Inscentinel is set to cash in when its box full of computer technology that turns honeybees into bomb detectors goes into mass production.
Bee sniffer squads could be on duty at airports, train stations and other terror targets within a year, say the scientists. Los Alamos sniffer squad trainer Tim Haartman, an entomologist - insect specialist - at the lab, said: "The technology is there. It's just a case of putting it into production."
A honeybee finds explosives by doing what comes naturally. He pokes out his proboscis - the trunk-like feeding organ with which he sucks in food - when he smells something he likes.
Wow. It's an inventive idea, to say the least. I wonder how many lives this will save.
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