{
  "id": 10669514,
  "title": "How bumblebees keep up with a flower that won't stay still",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/how-bumblebees-keep-up-with-a-flower-that-wont-stay-still",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-29T10:40:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bumblebees-wont-stay.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Landing on a flower that's continuously moving is a tricky maneuver for any airborne creature. Bumblebees face this challenge when trying to land on a flower that sways back and forth in the wind. To tackle this, researchers from Wageningen University and Delft University of Technology conducted experiments where bumblebees learned to land on a circular platform, which moved sideways at a hive entrance. The platform swayed through two complete cycles per second, moving 2.5 centimeters to either side. High-speed cameras recorded 48 landing sequences to analyze the bees' movements. The study, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, found that the bees managed to keep up with the platform's motion by matching its sideways movement while lagging slightly behind. This delay allowed the bees to react to perceived movement without needing to predict the flower's path. The bees achieved lateral acceleration by banking, similar to how a helicopter adjusts its flight path. However, the study also revealed that the bees needed additional information—specifically, how quickly the visual motion was changing—to fine-tune their steering. This extra response helped the bees adjust their course as the visual motion around the flower changed. While the researchers used regular, predictable motion in their experiments, they suggest that the cues used by the bees could become more important when faced with unpredictable gusts that send flowers moving erratically. The study highlights the complex ways in which bumblebees process visual and inertial information to successfully land on a moving target.",
  "summary": "Landing on a moving target is a challenge for all flying animals. For bumblebees, a flower swaying in the wind creates an erratic landing pad. Reaching it means matching its sideways motion while continuing to face it. When the bee turns in flight, its view of the flower changes, which complicates the feat.",
  "key_points": [
    "Bumblebees land on moving flowers, facing challenge of swaying blooms",
    "Researchers from Wageningen and Delft Universities study bee maneuvering",
    "Bees match platform's motion by lagging slightly, using lateral acceleration"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}