Why do bees fly

Now a new mathematical analysis has put together a complete picture of how bees , as well as other insects and small birds, actually manage to fly. Up until the s it was assumed that bees used a continuous flow of air over their wing to generate lift, similar to how commercial planes fly.

But in it was discovered that bees also have tiny tornado-like airflows that form on the leading edges of their wings, known as leading edge vortices LEVs. By creating three mathematical models each with a different mechanism for generating lift and then comparing the models to the original experiments, they were able to work out how the creatures stay in the air.

It would stand to reason that once they reached a certain height, their wings would not be able to beat fast enough to sustain lift. Modern technology made it possible to study a flying bee in a way never seen before.

This helps promote more in-depth study of honey bees. Now we know things about bee wings were previously undiscovered. The special features of bees wings structure and the method in which they rotate make honey bee flight possible. Think of this the next time you see a flying bee. Master Beekeeper, Charlotte Anderson shares her love of all things honeybee.

She helps others become better beekeepers and teaches new beekeepers how to get started. Her mission is spreading awareness of the importance of honey bees.

She is a former Beekeeper of the Year in South Carolina. Skip to content. In this Post:. Similar Posts. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More. Close This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website.

Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies.

But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information. The next logical question to ask is how do bees manage to move their wings so quickly in the first place? To understand this, we need to take a look at the how their muscles are laid out in the thorax.

Figure 1: Diagrams showing the arrangement of muscles in the insect thorax. Source: Wikimedia Commons. The main wing movement is driven by two large pairs of muscles in the thorax.

Figure 1 shows these muscles: the DVMs dorsoventral muscles run from the top to the bottom of the thorax and the DLM the dorsal-longitudinal muscle runs from the front to the back of the thorax.

When the DVMs contract, the whole body gets squeezed top-to-bottom, and this causes the wings to flap upwards. In contrast, when the DLM contracts, the body gets squeezed front-to-back, and the wings flap downwards. This is shown in figure 2 below. By contracting at different times, these muscles make the wings flap. Copyright Animal Dynamics A key feature of these muscles is that they show something called stretch activation. This means that the muscles become active shortly after they are stretched to a certain degree.