This from Associated Press today:

AM-Scenting-Landmines   123 21-02 0498 AM-Scenting-Landmines
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INDEX: International, Defence, Technology

Scientists all abuzz about prospects for tiny mine-detectors

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists are investigating the keen senses of honeybees and other insects as a possible way to detect landmines.
   Honeybees have such an exquisite sense of smell they can detect the vapour that wafts from the ground from the explosives in buried landmines. Traces of the chemicals are then carried by the bee back to its hive.
   Jerry Bromenshenk, speaking at the national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, said Monday researchers now hope to exploit this remarkable talent of the honeybee to identify areas that have been mined and perhaps even pinpoint individual mines.
   "Honeybees can pick up traces of all sorts of contaminants," said Bromenshenk, a researcher at the University of Montana in Missoula.
   "Our studies have shown that they can distinguish individual explosive compounds."
   The trick, he said, is getting this information from the bees.
   Under a contract with the U.S. army, Bromenshenk and a group of researchers have already shown by putting sensors inside beehives they can tell if a bee foraging in the field has detected an explosive compound and carried traces of it back to the hive.
   The next step is to follow the bee back to the place where it found the explosive.
   Bromenshenk said his group has developed tiny antennae that can be placed on individual bees, allowing them to be tracked electronically as far as 275 metres from the hive.
   For now, the antennae are too large to be practical but the scientists are working on a radio frequency chip that could be quickly glued on and easily carried by the insect.
   Researchers are also trying to exploit the keen senses of cockroaches and wasps to detect landmines, said Bromenshenk. The bees also are being trained to seek out the distinctive odour of explosives.
   "They are easy to train," said Bromenshenk, adding all that's needed is to give the insect a sugar water reward for flying to the target and returning the hive.
   He said it is clear a hive of bees could be used to detect the presence of explosives in an area of about 2.5 square kilometres. Using a series of electronically equipped hives, he said it would be possible to narrow down the presence of mines to an area the size of a room.
   "Whether or not they can be used to pinpoint the explosive is still an open question," he said.
   Current land-mine-removal systems use metal-detectors to locate the mines. Clearing teams then must use sharp sticks to investigate the buried object that triggered the metal detector. This is extremely tedious work because the metal detectors give scores of false alarms for every mine detected -- and each false alarm can cost the mine clearing teams about 10 minutes to investigate.
   CP 2052ES 21-02-00