Scientists Finally BEElieve

We can see by simple empiricism that a bumblebee flies. Common sense tells us it is flying. For those of you have never seen a bumblebee in flight, the above photo is a 2D representation of this flight.

For those who can't believe anything unless it is in scripture, bumblebee flight is also confirmed there:

She(Radha) addressed the bumblebee, "Your master Krsna is exactly of your quality. You sit down on a flower, and after taking a little honey you immediately fly away and sit in another flower and taste."

KB 47: Delivery of the Message of Krsna to the Gopis

Despite all this evidence, scientists for years have said that it is impossible for a bumblebee to fly, according to the laws of physics. Well, at last that can be laid to rest, and now even scientists believe they can fly:

"Combining robotic modelling with slow-motion videos of airborne honeybees may have helped researchers explain the curious aerodynamics of bee flight.

Aeronautical engineers had previously “proven” that bees cannot fly. So Michael Dickinson, an insect flight expert and colleagues at Caltech in Pasadena, California, US, decided to investigate the forces actually at work during honeybee flight.

In 1996, Charlie Ellington at Cambridge University, UK, showed how vortices rolling along the leading edge of many insects’ wings were a vital source of lift.

Most flying insects beat their wings in large strokes – typically flapping in arcs of 145° to 165° at a frequency determined by body size – to generate aerodynamic forces sufficient for flight. But this cannot explain how a heavy insect with a short wing beat, such as a bee, generates enough lift to fly..."

Secrets of Bee Flight Revealed - Complete Article