Bumblebee flight patterns altered by pollen load

According to data collected from Harvard University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology , the bumblebee chooses between collecting pollen or nectar based on how it will later affect their maneuverability and stability-all the while taking weather conditions into account.

Researchers, who revealed their analysis, say they now need to research whether or not bees look to hold pollen on windy or wet days, and nectar on calmer days. The study is published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. On some, they attached the weights to their legs, in place of pollen, while others had weights glued to their torsos, to simulate loads of nectar.

A sample flight trial of a bumblebee with a simulated nectar load tracking an oscillating flower in smooth airflow.

By contrast, when an insect was carrying nectar, the researchers thought it would have added manoeuvrability because its weight was focused near its centre of gravity.

If a bee had to land on a stationary flower in turbulent wind conditions, it flew with greater stability and efficiency when it was loaded with pollen than when it was loaded with nectar.

A new study suggests the flight patterns and maneuverability of bumblebees are altered by the weight of their loads and kind of food they carry. “They flap their wings, and their wings bend and twist as they flap them”.

Though there are tradeoffs involved, researchers say bees are adept flyers regardless of load and conditions. “It exhibits there is a commerce off between stability and maneuverability”. With the latter stored down around the legs, the bees did not have the same level of maneuverability in flight, but they were “more stable”, NPR reported.

“So if something is stable it’s not going to be maneuverable and if something is maneuverable it’s probably not going to be stable”.

While honey bees have dedicated foragers for pollen or for nectar, bumblebees are generalists and will carry either pollen or nectar depending on what the hive requires. Until recently, scientists have long wondered how carrying these heavy loads, so vital to the health of the hive, affects the way in which bumblebees fly.