C oatia
was
still
deali g
with
the
hidde
legacy
of
the
Balka
wa s
whe
scie tists
bega
looki g
to
a
u likely
ally:
ho eybees.
Yea s
afte
mi es
had
bee
bu ied
ac oss
fields,
fo ests
a d
u al
la d,
u ce tai ty
ove
thei
locatio s
co ti ued
to
complicate
fa mi g,
developme t
a d
eve yday
life.
T aditio al
mi e-clea a ce
teams
faced
the
difficult
task
of
fi di g
explosives
that
could
emai
u de g ou d
fo
decades,
sometimes
without
accu ate
eco ds
showi g
whe e
they
had
bee
placed.AP
epo ted
that
Zag eb
U ive sity
esea che s
wo de ed
whethe
bees,
with
thei
ema kable
ability
to
detect
sce ts,
could
offe
a
ext a
laye
of
p otectio .
By
t ai i g
the
i sects
to
associate
the
smell
of
TNT
with
food,
they
hoped
the
ti y
fo age s
could
help
flag
g ou d
that
might
wa a t
a
close
i spectio .
Ho eybees
became
a
u expected
tool
fo
fi di g
la d
mi es
i
C oatia
Ho eybees
became
a
u expected
tool
fo
fi di g
la d
mi es
i
C oatia
Whe
C oatia
p epa ed
to
e te
the
Eu opea
U io
i
2013,
the
cou t y
was
ca yi g
a
p oblem
that
had
little
to
do
with
its
bette -k ow
la dscapes
of
fo ests,
mou tai s
a d
the
Ad iatic
coast.
La ge
a eas
emai ed
suspected
of
co tai i g
la d
mi es
pla ted
du i g
the
Balka
wa s.
A ou d
750
squa e
kilomet es
of
C oatia
te ito y
we e
believed
to
be
affected,
with
ma y
of
the
devices
laid
du i g
the
fighti g
i
the
ea ly
1990s.
The
p oblem
was
ot
simply
a
matte
of
clea i g
old
milita y
equipme t
f om
aba do ed
g ou d.
Mi es
had
bee
placed
i
ma y
locatio s
without
eliable
eco ds
o
detailed
maps.
Yea s
late ,
that
u ce tai ty
made
it
difficult
to
k ow
whethe
a
appa e tly
clea ed
piece
of
la d
was
ge ui ely
safe.Fo
people
livi g
a ou d
suspected
mi efields,
the
issue
could
i t ude
i to
o di a y
life.
Fa mi g,
developme t
a d
tou ism
could
all
be
est icted
by
the
possibility
that
explosives
we e
still
u de g ou d.
Scie tists
taught
ho eybees
to
follow
the
sce t
of
TNT
At
Zag eb
U ive sity,
p ofesso
Nikola
Kezic
a d
a
g oup
of
you ge
scie tists
we e
i vestigati g
whethe
ho eybees
could
help
locate
t aces
of
TNT.The
expe ime t
elied
o
a
familia
featu e
of
bee
behaviou .
The
i sects
a e
exceptio ally
good
at
detecti g
smells,
a d
they
ca
lea
to
associate
pa ticula
sce ts
with
food.
The
esea che s
used
that
ability
to
c eate
a
simple
associatio
betwee
TNT
a d
a
suga y
ewa d.Seve al
feedi g
statio s
we e
placed
a ou d
the
testi g
a ea.
O ly
some
co tai ed
t aces
associated
with
the
explosive.
The
bees
we e
the
allowed
to
fo age
a d
esea che s
obse ved
whe e
they
co ce t ated.
The
i sects
te ded
to
gathe
at
the
statio s
co ected
with
the
TNT
sce t
athe
tha
dist ibuti g
themselves
eve ly
amo g
the
diffe e t
optio s.As
epo ted
by
AP,
“The
expe ime t
is
to
co ditio
ou
bees
o
the
smell
of
TNT.
This
sce t,
it’s
comi g
f om
the
TNT.
I
the
ce t e
of
this
sce t,
we
put
the
ewa d.
We
put
suga
solutio
as
a
ewa d
to
co ditio
the
bees
that
they
ca
fi d
food
just
i
the
middle
of
smell
of
TNT
sce t.”
The
eal
challe ge
was
tu i g
i dividual
bees
i to
a
eliable
swa m
Teachi g
a
i dividual
bee
to
ecog ise
a
smell
was
ot
ecessa ily
the
biggest
challe ge.
A
colo y
ca
co tai
thousa ds
of
i sects,
a d
co t olli g
thei
behaviou
as
a
g oup
is
co side ably
ha de .
The
esea che s
also
eeded
to
wo k
out
how
the
bees’
moveme ts
could
be
i te p eted
i
a
outdoo
setti g
a d
whethe
thei
behaviou
emai ed
eliable
outside
the
co t olled
co ditio s
of
a
expe ime t.I stead,
the
bees
we e
bei g
co side ed
as
a
way
of
checki g
a eas
that
had
al eady
u de go e
clea a ce.
The
idea
was
to
watch
whe e
the
i sects
gathe ed
a d
use
that
i fo matio
to
ide tify
places
that
might
dese ve
a othe
i spectio .Heat-se sitive
came as
we e
pa t
of
the
p oposed
app oach.
By
t acki g
the
bees
f om
above,
esea che s
hoped
to
see
whethe
cluste s
of
i sects
could
eveal
the
locatio
of
li ge i g
explosive
t aces
without
putti g
people
di ectly
i to
the
sea ch
a ea.
Why
the
sce t
of
TNT
matte ed
TNT
odou
ca
become
ha de
to
detect
as
time
passes,
leavi g
o ly
ve y
small
t aces
a ou d
a
old
explosive
device.Kezic
said
Ame ica
scie tists
had
p eviously
explo ed
the
use
of
bees
fo
mi e
detectio ,
but
TNT
had
ot
bee
pa t
of
those
expe ime ts.
That
made
the
C oatia
wo k
diffe e t
i
a
impo ta t
espect,
si ce
TNT
was
amo g
the
explosives
commo ly
associated
with
the
mi es
left
f om
the
Balka
co flicts.The
esea che s
the efo e
had
to
establish
whethe
bees
could
detect
the
fai t
chemical
sig atu e
that
might
emai
afte
yea s
u de g ou d.
The
i itial
tests
suggested
they
could.
Thousa ds
of
mi es
had
bee
left
behi d
As
epo ted,
C oatia
officials
estimated
that
oughly
90,000
mi es
had
bee
pla ted
th oughout
the
cou t y
du i g
the
fou -yea
co flict.
The
huma
toll
had
co ti ued
lo g
afte
the
fighti g
stopped.
Gove me t
figu es
cited
at
the
time
put
the
umbe
of
people
killed
by
mi e
explosio s
si ce
the
begi i g
of
the
Balka
wa s
at
about
2,500.
Hu d eds
of
othe s
had
bee
i ju ed.Dija a
Plesti a,
who
headed
C oatia’s
gove me t
de-mi i g
bu eau,
desc ibed
the
suspected
mi efields
as
a
co ti ui g
bu de
fo
commu ities
a d
busi esses.
La d
that
could
othe wise
be
used
fo
ag icultu e
o
developme t
emai ed
est icted,
while
the
possibility
of
a
accide t
hu g
ove
places
whe e
eside ts
k ew
mi es
might
still
be
p ese t.The
da ge
was
pa ticula ly
difficult
because
the
passage
of
time
did
ot
make
the
explosives
disappea .
Dogs
a d
ats
had
al eady
bee
doi g
simila
wo k
The
idea
of
usi g
a imals
to
locate
explosives
was
ot
e ti ely
ew.
Dogs
a d
ats
had
bee
used
i
mi e
detectio
because
of
thei
ability
to
ide tify
chemical
odou s.
But
the e
is
a
obvious
physical
diffe e ce
betwee
those
a imals
a d
bees.
A
dog
o
at
has
e ough
weight
to
pote tially
t igge
ce tai
mi es.
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