Mixing brain and robotic research isn't new.

reported in 2008 that they had worked with Japanese scientists to use the neurons in a monkey's brain to control a robot. Scientists hoped the project would help them find ways to give movement back to those suffering from paralysis.

That research came on the heels of work done in 2007 at the University of Arizona, where scientists successfully connected a to a robot. The robot, linked to the brain of a hawk moth, responded to what the moth was seeing and was able to move out of the way when an object approached the moth.

Scientists working on the moth project five years ago predicted people will be using "hybrid" computers -- a combination of technology and living organic tissue - between 2017 and 2022.

In the research under way on bees' brains, the scientists said they hope their findings can be used to build flying robots that could be used in search and rescue missions, for example, to seek information and make decisions about how to proceed in their work.