Creatures Feature Possible Defense Applications By Paul Stone
American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, July 28, 1999 This
article also appears in illustrated form on the Defenselink News
Web site www.defenselink.mil/specials/bees/index.html. The
recent buzz about honeybees as flying mine detectors is just
part of the story about how the Pentagon is trying to enlist
diverse members of the zoological kingdom for military
applications. [For more information on DoD's bee research, see
the American Forces Press Service story "Researchers Abuzz About
Land Mine Detecting Bees." ] Add flies, beetles, lobsters and
even geckos, and the full range of species being studied starts
to become clear. Add creative thinking and technology and the
range of possible defense-related applications starts to boggle
the mind. All the above are part of three-year study sponsored
by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The purpose of
the study is not only to determine capabilities within the
zoological kingdom, but to see if