Bomb squad

Honeybees have a "nose" for nectar. But their keen sense of smell also makes them good bomb sniffers.

Scientists are training these insect detectives to find bombs by exposing them to the smell of explosives. The bees' antennae can detect minute amounts of explosive particles, says Tim Haarmann, an entomologist who studies insects at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Laboratory.

After getting a whiff of explosive scent, the bees-in-training receive sugared water. They drink this treat with their tube-like proboscis. This training teaches the bees to stick out their proboscises whenever they smell an explosive-alerting trainers that a bomb is nearby.

The bees are quick studies. Haarmann says he can train 50 honeybees in about two hours. UnBEElievable!

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