1) When will we see the bees working in the airport or for medical diagnosis?
It depends on when there is a job on offer for the bees! No, joking.
We are as eager as you to see the Bee Sensor technology in use. The development has slowly matured over the years and seeing what the bees are capable of, people have begun to look at it more seriously. We are working very hard day, in and out, to make this happen.
2) There is something suspicious in my garden, can you send me the trained bees by courier?
No! Bees do not like long distance travelling.
The advantage of using bees is that you can use any bees available around you. If you have a beehive in your garden, all you need is to purchase our kit and you can train the bees to do what you want with them. However, the price tag of our machine probably means that it is not suitable for home leisure activities.
3) Since the bees are so fast and good in learning, are the dogs going jobless?
Absolutely not. We have seen the capability of dogs, they are amazing. They are excellent in searching and can also effectively deter the suspect.
The fact is, dogs are smart animals, they get bored and and don't like long working hours. In contrast, our busy bees are good at repetitive, high volume workand will pick up boring jobs the dogs don't want to do.
In practice, we envisage the bees will be out on the front line doing the screening work and then followed up by dogs who come along for more detail search. We see our bees as the natural co-workers of dogs.
4) Is there a danger of people being stung using a Bee Sensor System?
No. We work with bees all day long and so far have not been stung, touch wood!
Our Bee Sensor System restrains the bees in a bee holder throughout the process. From outside, you probably will not realise there are 36 bees hiding in the detector to catch the terrorist.
5) Are the bees harmed by the process?
No. Bees are merely performing the tasks they would do in nature - sniffing for food. Their part-time jobs are well paid with a generous amount of sugar water. In addition, they work in a safe enviroment followed strictly with the health and safety regulation. We have a protocol in placed to ensure the worker bees are treated equally and fairly.
At the end of the working day, the bees go back to their hives to rejoin their family.
6) How long do bees remember the odour to which they've been trained?
Research shows that they can remember the odour for life! (the reality though is that their life span is approximately 6 weeks)
There is a catch, it lasts as long as the memory is not desensitised. In other words, unrewarded when the target is present. Imagine that your kid used to get rewarded with sweets if well behaved and one day you decide to break the routine - get the idea?
7) How many bees are in a hive?
Plenty! One hive can contain up to 60,000 bees. These are all produced by one productive queen bee. She lays up to 2,000 eggs per day and can live up to 5 years. Since queen bee is fed only with royal jelly, some people see royal jelly as a miracle supplement (we're not so sure).
8) How long do worker bees live for?
Very short compared to the the queen. Honey bee workers live for four to six weeks in the summer months but longer during winter when they aren't foraging. For the first three weeks of their lives they remain inside the hive carrying out duties such as feeding larvae and making beeswax. For the last three weeks of their lives they become foragers, collecting pollen and nectar from flowers outside the hive.
We use only the foraging bees for sniffing duty. It is only at this stage their olfactory is well developed for the tasks.
9) Where do you get bees from in the winter?
Honey bees do not like cold weather. During winter, they huddle inside the colony and feed on stored honey.
Part of our Bee Sensor System is an indoor flight room which mimics the temperature and light of the summer months. The bees are able to 'forage' indoors to the fresh pollen and sugar water. This keeps them active and happy throughout the year.