Trained wasps may be used to detect bombs, bugs, bodies and more

[IGBT]

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In the current study, the researchers used Microplitis croceipes, a species of tiny parasitic wasps that can be trained to detect certain odors by associating the odors with a food reward. The wasps are not capable of stinging humans, the scientists say. Training a single wasp to detect a target odor can take as little as five minutes and the insects can be easily bred by the thousands, they say.

Besides detecting plant diseases, the device has a wide variety of other potential applications. In previous studies, the researchers demonstrated that they also could train the wasps to detect 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT), a chemical used in certain explosives. The wasps can also be used to detect chemical odors that are associated with certain human diseases, including lung cancer, skin cancer and stomach ulcers, they say. More recently, their group has been looking into the possibility of using the wasps to detect odors associated with hidden bodies, from murder victims to victims of disasters.

 

[DrPizza]

I had seen this in some publication recently. It was quite interesting.
Training the wasps is no problem.
My question that I'd like the researchers to explain, is how do you implement it?
i.e. do you just keep 5 thousand of these wasps buzzing around the airport all day?
Question 2: aren't the wasps still attracted to the normal things they're attracted to? What do you do if they're attracted to (as some bees are) certain fragrances or perfumes? What if 1 in 2000 people is wearing that perfume; that's a lot of people being pinpointed by wasps.
But, how do you follow the wasps? (although I do recall some sort of miniature device that works... I suppose an RFID tag might be sufficient)

 

[TRUMPHENT]

DrPizza, read the article. The wasps are kept in a container called a "Wasp Hound". It is an alarm. The wasps do something when they detect the appropriate odor that sets off the alarm.

I think this is an interesting application. The article mentions that the wasps are cheaper than dogs