Bees and cockroaches can detect drugs

German scientists believe that bees and cockroaches can be used to detect drugs, even more effectively than dogs.

Drugs can be detected by bees and cockroaches

The finding is expected to help check-in at airports. Bees, cockroaches and some other insects such as moths can be used to detect luggage packages containing heroin, cocaine or stimulant drugs.

Bees can be used to detect narcotics - (Photo: Reuters)

The new method can support legalization to control marijuana in many parts of the world. The study was conducted at the University of Giessen (Germany). Currently, dogs are very sensitive to odors and should be used to detect drugs. However, the cost of training and taking care of them is not cheap.

On the other hand, places that want to legalize marijuana as some US states will have to train so that dogs can ignore it when they detect the smell of marijuana. This is very difficult and time consuming, scientists said.

Meanwhile, insects can detect a number of characteristic odor by protein called OBPs. This protein dissolves in mucus in insect antennae, helping them to sniff effectively. Scientists can train insects to react when exposed to a certain odor.

For bees, they experiment by shocking them when they are exposed to the smell of heroin. Later, they put the bees into a closed room containing heroin and found them away from the places where they smelled of heroin.

The study concluded that a device that detects heroin if containing 40 bees can achieve an accuracy of 80 to 95%. Today, science believes that insect's antennae are one of the most sensitive organs for detecting odors. They are even used to diagnose diseases and detect explosives.