Flight of the Bumblebee Studied for Science

<span style="font-family: georgia, adidas chaussures femme palatino;”>Everyone is familiar with Rimsky-Korsakov’s famous interlude, however scientists from Harvard University have been studying an actual flight of the bumblebee in an effort to work out how the insects manage to remain steady in adverse weather conditions. Dr Sridhar Ravi filmed bumblebees as they flew in a wind tunnel allowing him and his team to control the airflow the bees had to contend with.

<span style="font-family: georgia, Hogan Rebel palatino;”>Dr Ravi says “As we have all experienced, the wind speed and direction outdoors can be very variable, Nike Air Huarache [so] maintaining stable flight can be extremely challenging. The best micro air vehicles available today struggle to fly stably when there is even in a light breeze.”

The team filmed the bees using high-speed cameras and replayed their flight in super slow motion, discovering how the insects adjusted their flight according to the airflow. Interestingly the footage revealed that the bees reduced their speed in unsteady winds, which seemed to allow them to expend more energy correcting their flight path.