Bees create buzz over land mines

It’s not the honey that makes bees so attractive. A University of Montana researcher has discovered these ubiquitous buzzing insects have capabilities far sweeter.

After 30 years of study, Jerry Bromenshenk of the University Faculty Association/MEA-MFT/AFT has trained bees to sniff out land mines. With colleagues Steve Rice and Colin Henderson, also of MEA-MFT, and Robert Seccomb, he’s taught bees to associate the scent of explosives with food, set them loose, and watched them swarm over known mine sites. He tracks them with lidar, a radar-like laser, mapping mined areas from a safe distance.

The Red Cross estimates that 80 to 120 million land mines remain unexploded in some 70 countries, killing or maiming thousands of people annually. “If dogs were to sniff out all of the existing land mines known today, it would take 500 years,” says Rice, citing United Nations figures. “If we were to use bees ... we could do it in under 50.” Honeybees can be trained in two days, do not require handlers, are inexpensive, available, and so light they would never trip a hidden mine—even if they landed.

Bromenshenk began his research recording the environmental impact of coal plants on bees. He discovered that bees, which he calls “flying dust mops,” collect pollutants and other particles on their statically charged hairs, bringing them back to the hive where they can be analyzed. The little critters have since been used to sample SuperFund sites, record fallout from Chernobyl, and investigate carcinogens at military landfills. Electronic beehives, wired to measure environmental elements as well as bee activity, allow scientists to gather the information they need without putting themselves at risk.

For land-mined countries, bees fly in with an additional advantage: They help restore land to agriculture, then pollinate newly planted crops. Local “bee wranglers” can use existing colonies—every country has bees—and use something as simple and available as hollow trees for hives.

Bromenshenk, Rice, and Henderson formed Bee Alert Technology Inc. to bring their discoveries to market. In September, with Bromenshenk testing counters in 117-degree Arizona heat, Rice said, “We’re fairly close to turning it loose to a manufacturer.” A Montana law allowing faculty to pursue this kind of potentially profitable research has been vital to their efforts. Mike Kupilik, president of the University Faculty Association, remembers the union backing the legislation. Bromenshenk was pivotal in getting it passed.

Bee Alert already has reached students, who learn about the project in class; some even monitor and maintain the hives. They learn biology, chemistry, engineering and, not incidentally, commerce. “We’ve taken a real-world process,” says Rice, “and put it in an academic setting.”

“I’m excited about this simply from a humanitarian aspect,” he adds. “Whoever is maimed by a mine, that’s a permanent life change.” Montana wranglers may make the difference.