The flight of the humble bee was once so baffling that mathematicians famously concluded it was impossible. But using high-speed cameras and a scale model robot scientists have at last worked out the secret that helps bees stay aloft.
Most flying insects flap their wings using long, sweeping strokes, but honeybees take a less efficient approach. Even though it is a less stable way to fly, honeybees flap their wings more furiously producing just enough force to lift their bodies.
The scientists believe bees developed the unusual style to cope with the varying demands they face during flight. When foraging for nectar, they are at their lightest, but when laden with pollen, or carrying larvae, they can weigh twice as much. By switching from rapid, short wingbeats to longer beats, bees can vary the creature's lifting power considerably.
The scientists unravelled the bees' flying tactics by diverting them into a clear plastic box fitted with three high-speed video cameras which took 3D snapshots of the hovering insects 6,000 times a second. They found that a honeybee typically flaps its 1cm-long wings 240 times a second, each beat covering an arc of only 90o.
Other insects flap at no more than 200 times a second, with each stroke beating over a 165o arc. Instead of producing a steady, powerful upward thrust, the bees' flying style generates peaks of lift at the beginning, middle and end of each beat.
To test the bees, researchers pumped a mixture of helium and oxygen into the box, making the air thin. The bees responded by opening out their stroke to around 140o, and switching their flight behavior to that used by other insects.
The Burmese junta has said that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “in good health,” a day after her son said he has received little information about the 80-year-old’s condition and fears she could die without him knowing. In an interview in Tokyo earlier this week, Kim Aris said he had not heard from his mother in years and believes she is being held incommunicado in the capital, Naypyidaw. Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was detained after a 2021 military coup that ousted her elected civilian government and sparked a civil war. She is serving a
REVENGE: Trump said he had the support of the Syrian government for the strikes, which took place in response to an Islamic State attack on US soldiers last week The US launched large-scale airstrikes on more than 70 targets across Syria, the Pentagon said on Friday, fulfilling US President Donald Trump’s vow to strike back after the killing of two US soldiers. “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance,” US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on social media. “Today, we hunted and we killed our enemies. Lots of them. And we will continue.” The US Central Command said that fighter jets, attack helicopters and artillery targeted ISIS infrastructure and weapon sites. “All terrorists who are evil enough to attack Americans are hereby warned
Seven wild Asiatic elephants were killed and a calf was injured when a high-speed passenger train collided with a herd crossing the tracks in India’s northeastern state of Assam early yesterday, local authorities said. The train driver spotted the herd of about 100 elephants and used the emergency brakes, but the train still hit some of the animals, Indian Railways spokesman Kapinjal Kishore Sharma told reporters. Five train coaches and the engine derailed following the impact, but there were no human casualties, Sharma said. Veterinarians carried out autopsies on the dead elephants, which were to be buried later in the day. The accident site
RUSHED: The US pushed for the October deal to be ready for a ceremony with Trump, but sometimes it takes time to create an agreement that can hold, a Thai official said Defense officials from Thailand and Cambodia are to meet tomorrow to discuss the possibility of resuming a ceasefire between the two countries, Thailand’s top diplomat said yesterday, as border fighting entered a third week. A ceasefire agreement in October was rushed to ensure it could be witnessed by US President Donald Trump and lacked sufficient details to ensure the deal to end the armed conflict would hold, Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow said after an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The two countries agreed to hold talks using their General Border Committee, an established bilateral mechanism, with Thailand
RSS