• Question: Why can bees fly? is it try that there is no way that bees should be able to fly becaus they are so fat and have tiny wings!

    Asked by anon-186306 to Verity, Trystan, Raquel, Danny, Catherine, Andy on 11 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Verity Hill

      Verity Hill answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      Scientists have struggled for a long time to try to understand how bees stay in the air, because you’re right! They have big bodies and little wings and it didn’t fit with what we thought about how flight works before. Basically, the secret is that they flap their wings very very fast – about 230 times every second.

    • Photo: Danny Ward

      Danny Ward answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      Although bees are big, bulky and not at all aerodynamic…they certainly don’t act against the laws of physics. They are able to flap their big wings really fast which easily lifts their light body. In fact, the reason they are so big is partly an adaptation to allow them to flap their wings so fast. Insects often trade aerodynamics and being streamlined for a faster and longer wing flap. A long, fast wing flap leads to lots of lift for the bee 🐝

    • Photo: Trystan Leng

      Trystan Leng answered on 12 Nov 2018:

      It is a myth that science can’t explain how bees can fly, but quite a widespread one. It is actually referenced at the beginning of the ‘bee movie’. The confusion comes from an assumption used in the argument – if bees flew like airplanes, they definitely couldn’t fly. But bees don’t fly like airplanes. By flapping quickly and rotating their wings at the same time, bees are able to fly, and this can be explained by our understanding or aerodynamics.

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