Thursday, December 24, 2009

Video: How Bees Perform Perfect Landings

BBC, 12/24/2009

High-speed footage has revealed how a honeybee performs the perfect landing.

Researchers found that the insect switches from "flight mode" to a more stable "hover mode", where it then assesses the landing ground using its eyes, antennae and legs.

After a few thousandths of a second, the bee's hind legs make contact with the ground and then it delicately lowers itself down before coming to a stop.

The research was carried out by scientists at the Vision Centre at the University of Queensland, Australia, and Lund University, Sweden, and was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

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