Move over, bloodhound. The Wasp Hound is coming

Glen Rains of the University of Georgia and colleagues have invented the Wasp Hound, a device that harnesses the amazing olfactory capabilities of parasitic wasps to detect and locate explosives, illegal drugs, and plant diseases. The tiny parasitic wasps ordinarily seek out a specific species of caterpillar larvae, on which they lay their eggs. But they can be trained within 30 minutes to associate a wide range of scents with their target food. A handful of wasps live in a small plastic chamber which is monitored by a camera. The camera triggers an alarm when the wasp's body positioning indicates the presence of the material they are trained to detect.

This item is a riff on the old nature vs. technology debate, in which the world's engineering geniuses struggle to prove that they can come up with devices that are better than nature. While there's something inside each of us that roots for the bloodhound to remain the top dog in detection capabilities, I like that this nature/technology hybrid is a candidate for the role. A perfect world would involve more examples of scientists harmonizing with the amazing innovations of Mother Nature, a partnership that would surely heighten our appreciation for the world around us...

For more on how these tiny wasps scent their food:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publications.htm?SEQ_NO_115=128348

For a research paper presented on how bloodhounds can be used in search and rescue efforts:
http://www.cee.mtu.edu/~hssantef/sar/others/Hardy/Bloodhounds.html