# Can bees fly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 14, 2001, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-bees-fly/49978 "2001-01-14T07:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![paul\_watkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8c91f0/32.png) [@paul\_watkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paul_watkins)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-bees-fly/49978/1 "2001-01-14T07:28:00Z")
Is it true that, according to science, bees should not be able to fly? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-bees-fly/49978/2 "2001-01-14T07:31:08Z")
That is a common misconception. We currently understand the mechanism of bee flight, and it involves the muscles that move the wing being ‘strummed’ like a guitar cord rather than being contracted and relaxed over and over again. This allows for a much more rapid motion of the wing, enabling the bee to fly. ---
**Author:** ![cls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@cls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cls)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-bees-fly/49978/3 "2001-01-14T07:34:01Z")
No. [http://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~ben/zetie1.htm](http://www.wolfson.ox.ac.uk/~ben/zetie1.htm) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2001, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-bees-fly/49978/4 "2001-01-14T08:08:25Z")
Cecil’s explanation is [here](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_045.html).