Just how High can Bumblebees Fly? As High as Mount Everest

Have you ever been curious at just how high bumblebees can go? We know scientists certainly have, and a new study by researchers from the University of California, Berkeley shows that they may be able to go a bit higher than previously thought. Just how high? As high as Mount Everest, in fact.

For the study, researchers from the university stimulated low oxygen and low air density conditions to see if such high elevations could limit bumblebees' flight capacity. However, though researchers note that these insects cannot survive in the freezing conditions of the harsh climate at Mount Everest's peak, they found that bees were capable of staying afloat even at such remarkably inhospitable environments and elevations, according to Live Science.

The team booked it to a mountain range in Sichuan, China in order to collect six male bumblebees of the species Bombus impetuosus at around 10,660 feet. Researchers then placed the bees in clear, sealed boxes to adjust oxygen levels and air density using a hand pump.

Findings showed that all of the bees were capable of flying in conditions equal to 13,000 feet. For some, they were even able to fly as high as 30,000 feet--the approximate height of Mount Everest's peak!

To accomplish such a feat, the researchers found that instead of beating their wings faster to increase energy and speed, the bees changed the position and angle at which they extended their wings for each beat. This helped get them closer to their heads and abdomens each time-helping them swoop up faster and stay stronger in the air.

At the end of the study, researchers said they believe that bumblebees are not so much limited by flying capacity when settling in colonies-but more so, by the availability of flower nectar.

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Biology Letters.