Is there a danger of people being stung using a bee based system?

Honeybees are restrained within individual holders throughout their sniffing duty, which are designed to prevent stings.  During use they are held within a "black box" detector so there is no contact at all with the bees.

Are the bees harmed by the process?

Bees are unharmed during their sniffing tasks and are comfortable throughout - only healthy bees work effectively.  After their working shift the bees are returned to their hive where they live out the rest of their lives and are integrated back into the colony.

How long do bees remember the odour to which they've been trained?

After training,  honeybees can remember odours for  72 hours or more, but our bees are usually only used for one to two days before being returned to the hive. 

How many bees are in a hive?

One hive can contain around 60,000 bees.  The majority of these are female worker bees, but there will also be some male drones depending on the time of year, and one queen.  The queen bee is able to lay up to 2,000 eggs per day, producing a steady supply of bees to be trained for detection purposes.

How long do worker bees live for?  

Honeybee workers live for four to six weeks.  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 honeybees that are foragers since they are easy to collect from the entrance of the hive, and they are actively using their olfactory capabilites to seek out flowers.

Where do you get bees from in the winter?

During winter, when the days become colder and shorter, honeybees in outside colonies remain within the hive feeding on stored honey.  The number of individuals in the hive and the production of young is reduced. To continue our research and sensor work, we have developed a system to produce bees indoors throughout the winter.  Colonies are kept in special "flight rooms" where the temperature is warm and long days are created using artificial lighting.  The bees are able to fly in these rooms and are provided with pollen and sugar syrup on which to forage.