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From the porch
An Associated Press story in December revealed that honeybees can be trained to detect explosives even in tiny quantities. A $1.5 million study conducted at the Los Alamos National Laboratory showed that in thousands of trials, those cute honeybees were able to detect the odor of an explosive. The bees stick out their tongues when they smell an explosive. This was accomplished by giving them sugar water as a reward. Bees have a superior sense of smell, rivaling that of dogs. Could bees soon be released in Iraq to detect roadside bombs and suicide bombers? The Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency has decided that they won't have to make miniature military uniforms for bees because "bees are not reliable enough for military tactical use at this point." (They probably get distracted by a nice looking flower). However, the agency said that perhaps honeybees can be used at airports or at our nation's borders to sniff out explosives. If it works, I suppose it would be worth the effort. But it would seem strange to have bees buzzing around my luggage at the airport. I can picture everyone intently watching a bee at work. Once the bee sticks out its tongue, a stampede might ensue from travelers trying to escape a possible explosion. Honeybees are gentle creatures and don't normally sting people. But if we can use honeybees, why not enlist yellow jackets and hornets. They could be trained to attack the enemy.
How could any enemy fight while being swarmed from below by yellow jackets and from above by hornets. Yellow jackets live in holes in the ground and become very angry if someone treads on their hole. Hornets build nests or homes above, usually in trees. And they can be very aggressive. Of course, I haven't seen many trees in Iraq, but there are plenty of holes. Sadamn Hussein was pulled from one when we captured him.
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