How do bees execute such flawless turns?

How do bees execute such flawless turns? Today’s Video of the Day from EurekAlert describes an investigation into how bees are capable of making such perfectly coordinated turns during flight.

Researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland examined the flight patterns of bees and found that they slowed down their speed to counter centrifugal force.

A better understanding of how bees keep turning forces constant could ultimately be applied to aerial robots as well as ground vehicles to improve navigation. Also Bees feed on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used as food for their larvae. Vertebrate predators of bees include primates and birds such as bee-eaters; insect predators include beewolves and dragonflies. There is also over 16,000 known species of bees known in the biological family of the species, such as bumblebee, and stingless bees. And there is also the most common bee, the honey bee which produces the most honey. So you ask How do bees execute such flawless turns? Well they have the energy and the form and flight pattern down just right.

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

—

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Video Credit: EurekAlert