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We often marvel at the brainpower of bees, because well—it’s marvelous. Despite possessing only a minuscule amount of grey matter, the essential pollinators are also clever little problem solvers capable of basic math, maze navigation, and scent memorization. According to a news release from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and as reported by the Washington Post, the industrious insects may soon be adding COVID-19 detection to their bee CVs.

A worker bee’s daily duties include quickly and accurately discriminating one scent from another to locate the best sources of pollen. Now, scientists are putting that advanced sensory skill to good use by training the insects to sniff out the coronavirus, because bees are also able to detect the very subtle scent caused by COVID infection. During training, when an infected sample is presented to the insects, researchers reward them with sugar water. After several repetitions, the bees learn to extend their tongues without receiving a reward when they detect the scent of the virus.

With early lab results showing that COVID can’t elude sensitive sniffer bees, the research team is continuing the development of the tongues-out test to train multiple bees simultaneously, as well as a biosensor to deploy the insects for early diagnosis, and ultimately a biochip utilizing bee-gene odor sensing abilities that won’t require insect deployment. These projects aim to offer low-income countries lacking in financing and infrastructure quick, accurate, cost-effective tests for the coronavirus. Once again, when it comes to problem solving, it looks like the bee team is the A-team.