Can Honey Bees Detect Stink Bugs for Biosecurity?

Abstract

Biosecurity in New Zealand is important for keeping our country’s industries and biodiversity safe. Current methods for unwanted organism detection includes dogs and human searches. Studies have shown that honey bees (Apis mellifera) have an acute olfactory sense and memory, which has allowed them to be trained to respond to various odours, including drugs and explosives. I investigated whether it was possible to train honey bees to the scent of a current unwanted organism (Halyomorpha halys) through the use of appetitive training in the laboratory and in the field, as well as through aversion training using new technology in the laboratory. Accuracy of honey bees trained to a synthetic stink bug mixture in the laboratory using the appetitive proboscis extension reflex method, was equivalent to that required by detector dogs. When testing using live stink bugs, low response rates (10%) suggested that honey bees were unable to detect the odour. Both the aversion lab test and appetitive field-test results provided no evidence for honey bees being trained to the synthetic odours being used. This study therefore concludes that honey bees are able to detect odours produced by unwanted organisms. However, technology is lagging behind on a practical way to use these insects in a real biosecurity manner. Further investigation using improved methods would clear up many of the questions that still go unanswered from this study. Through further research and with the invention of better technology, then it is possible that honey bees could find themselves on our country’s frontlines in the fight against unwanted organisms.