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Bombus: Defying laws of physics-or not?

7/26/2014

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The blackberry patch on our hillside is definitely a bee magnet; some days I'll see five different species of bombus in addition to the honeybees, mason bees, and bee mimics.

Thank you bees...blackberry pies will be enjoyed in abundance this autumn!

Have you ever heard that bumblebees should not be able to fly as it would defy the laws of physics?  This story is a myth, but it is based on the science of how airplanes fly by creating lift with the angle of their wings.

It turns out that bumblebees are not built like airplanes; Karl Smallwood explains that the way that bumblebees fly is "
...by rotating their wings, which creates pockets of low air pressure, which in turn create small eddies above the bee’s wing which lift it into the air and, thus, grant it the ability to fly." In essence, they create mini-hurricanes and ride them out.

Bee ID: top  Bombus melanopygus;
middle
and bottom no confirmation ID (yet)

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Bee Peek of the Week

5/25/2014

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I believe that this is a Bombus mixtus (also known as the "orange-booty bumblebee") tasting our Allium schoenoprasum, or chives.
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Bumble Bee Watch

3/9/2014

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I've just signed up for Bumble Bee Watch!
You can join me as a beepeeker here: Xerces Society
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    Author

    Tracey Byrne~
    I spent most of the 1980s and 90s in Alaska
    flying airplanes, floating wild rivers, winter camping, raising a wild child, and living off the grid :^)

    With my MAT in Advanced Inquiry for Biological Sciences, I've taught K-12 students from north of the Arctic Circle to the Puget Sound Ecoregion, garnering over thirty years experience as a classroom teacher, learning mentor, and private tutor. 

    Here in Seattle, I am an advocate for environmental stewardship, place-based education, and outdoor play. I share my enthusiasm for birds, bugs, and backyards
    and have been a featured writer and photographer for Pacific Horticulture. 
    All photographs © T. Byrne unless otherwise noted.

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