Trained bees at airports

[busybee53]

Earlier this week (not sure which day) I think it was the one show which featured the training of bees for use at airports. They take individual bees and let them smell explosives or drugs and then reward them with sugar. The bees quickly learn to detect the required substance. Once trained they are put into individual compartments which hold the bee still without squashing it. Rows of bees are then put into a sort of container which can then be passed over suitcases etc. to find the drugs or explosives. A non beekeeping friend of mine thinks this is unkind, possibly cruel to bees. Did anyone see it? Does anyone know how long the bees are kept in the little boxes? Are they returned to their hives later? Can you be cruel to insects? Please let me know what you all think.

 

[Dishmop]

and the bloke who was training the bees wanted us to believe that the bees would be returned to the hive at the end of the day..... Yeh of course...

 

[Robbie & Jans Bees]

I think that this work just goes to show how clever our girls are if I said to you that this was possible 10 years you would of thought I had been on the Mead?

 

[Norton]

Bees are except from the "cruelty to animals" regulations.

 

[The Cumbrian]

and the bloke who was training the bees wanted us to believe that the bees would be returned to the hive at the end of the day..... Yeh of course...

As I said in the thread "Security Bees" why wouldn't they be. There is nothing to be gained by not returning them to the hive.

Firstly they would want to keep the hive thriving and somebody would need to maintain they hive so why couldn't the bees be simply released to return to the hive.

Secondly I know the chances are probably infinitesimally small but bees that were caught a second time would save time in retraining.

Why think the worst of people there is no reason why they shouldn't be returned to the hive.

 

[Dishmop]

As I said in the thread "Security Bees" why wouldn't they be. There is nothing to be gained by not returning them to the hive.

only that if they did return them to the hive every day, they will then have to train a new batch of bees every day to replace yesterdays..

 

[Dishmop]

I think that this work just goes to show how clever our girls are if I said to you that this was possible 10 years you would of thought I had been on the Mead?

or some of the stuff they have been getting the bees to snort...

 

[The Cumbrian]

only that if they did return them to the hive every day, they will then have to train a new batch of bees every day to replace yesterdays..

As the program showed it took 10 minutes or less to train the bee. Due to bees learning the smell of a food source it often only took one exposure and reward to train the bee to that smell. Training a new set would not be too big a deal. Somebody could be preparing sets before each change of shift.

EDIT: Also reusing the bees for more than one shift is likely to mean the bees are no longer on top form and the device would begin to lose reliability making the idea worthless.

 

[Dishmop]

T

raining a new set would not be too big a deal. Somebody could be preparing sets before each change of shift.

but cheaper not to..

 

[The Cumbrian]

T but cheaper not to..

See EDIT in #8

 

[Beehive]

They did say the bees would be returned to the hive, but they didn't show that. Are they training every single bee in the hive? If not then they either lied......... or else they must have some way of identifying the trained bee. Maybe she answers to her name. Given our bees are struggling I hope they don't start introducing bees from oversees.

 

[Dishmop]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dishmop View Post
T but cheaper not to..
See EDIT in #8

Somebody must have shares in the company....

 

[The Cumbrian]

Somebody must have shares in the company....

No somebody doesn't but I fail to see why anyone should automatically assume that an organisation such as Customs who would ultimately be using this is staffed with people any different from themselves.

Perhaps I have been lucky in my life but I have reached and passed retirement age surrounded mainly by pleasant caring people who are no more likely to ill treat a living thing than I am.

You appear to assume all people don't care about living things in the way I assume you do.

 

[Dishmop]

and theres no such places as animal testing labs either........

 

[The Cumbrian]

and theres no such places as animal testing labs either........

Of course there are such places and in my opinion do a vital job. However that does not mean that all work with animals needs to be or is cruel. To me it is like suggesting that all people who use animals for any reason - honey production, as guide dogs (dogs not bees before somebody comments) sniffer dogs, cattle for milk etc is automatically going to treat them badly.

Sorry but I don't feel that this is the case. I also suspect I will never get you to understand my point of view or agree with it.

 

[Dishmop]

Sorry but I don't feel that this is the case. I also suspect I will never get you to understand my point of view or agree with it.

and your point of view is that everybody is nice........

well I doubt you'll ever get anybody to believe that....

sorry nothing personal....

 

[The Cumbrian]

and your point of view is that everybody is nice........

well I doubt you'll ever get anybody to believe that....

sorry nothing personal....

No my point of view is that the majority of people are nice and when animals are used for "work" to help man they are not automatically mistreated as you appeared to assume.

I have come across my share of not nice people and my share of animals being mistreated but it isn't the norm particularly for animals being used for the benefit of man, and IMO should not be portrayed as the norm otherwise it is likely to become the norm.

 

[For want of a better word]

Somebody must have shares in the company....

View attachment 5663



Got to get their profits up somehow !

 

[The Cumbrian]

 

[Adam]

As I said in the thread "Security Bees" why wouldn't they be. There is nothing to be gained by not returning them to the hive.

Firstly they would want to keep the hive thriving and somebody would need to maintain they hive so why couldn't the bees be simply released to return to the hive.

So you've taken some bees form a hive, poured a chemical smell over them and rewarded them with sugar and after a while you take them back to the hive. Let's imagine what happens. Having lost their nest smell, guard bees jump on them and kill them. I think, in the circumstances, it'd be kinder & quicker to kill them after use than try and reintroduce them.

Adam