How Bumblebees Really Fly

Bumblebees create miniature tornadoes on their wings to fly. Back in the 1930s,

scientists claimed bees shouldn't be able to fly because they treated bee wings like airplane

wings. They were completely wrong. Bees don't glide, they flap 230 times

per second. Each wing stroke generates leading edge vortices, tiny swirling air

pockets that create low pressure zones above the wing. This literally sucks the bee upward with

incredible force. At the end of each stroke, bees flip their wings over and recycle

that energy for the return movement. This is why they can hover motionless or dart in any direction

instantly. Some people call this levitation, but it's pure aerodynamic genius.