Honey Bee Bomb Squad

The Stealthy Insect Sensor Project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory has trained honeybees to sniff out explosives ranging from dynamite and C-4 to the Howitzer propellant grains used in improvised explosive devices in Iraq.

Pavlovian training techniques were used to teach the bees to stick out their proboscis when they smell bombs. The scientists hope the bees can be used to detect explosives in airports and at roadside security checks.