Business Notes RESEARCH

When the first wave of Africanized killer bees reaches the Texas border as early as next year, some of the restless insects may be turned into informants for the scientists who are plotting against them. The aerospace company Martin Marietta has designed a solar-powered microchip transmitter that can be glued snugly onto a bee's back, enabling entomologists to follow the swarm's movements and observe the bees' mating and foraging habits. The transmitter emits an infrared signal that can be detected up to a mile away. The company is still testing the tiny bee tracer, which it hopes to sell to the Agriculture Department and other researchers.