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Date: | Wed, 27 Mar 2013 12:36:05 -0400 |
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In a message dated 3/27/2013 10:00:49 A.M. Mountain Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/apr13/bumblebees_in_space.asp
A good friend of mine died last summer. His name was Robert Madsen, and
he was a leaf-cutter bee expert and a superb educator in our tribal
community colleges. Some years ago, he took a team of students to Texas and they
flew leaf cutter bees in the vomit comet - the plane that climbs, then
dives, alternating in the climbs from high g forces, to weightlessness in the
dive.
First couple loops, the leaf cutters banged around or hung on for dear
life. Students also landed on their heads a few times.
However, the bees soon learned to 1) anticipate the climb/dive cycles, and
2) manipulate in the weightless environment. They adopted a strategy of
moving to the bottom of the plexiglass box that they were in during to the
high g periods, and then floating, sometimes catching each other in small
groups, or holding to the sides with one leg during the dive. By end of the
sessions, some even managed to figure out how to fly without losing
control. Even saw one pair mating in weightlessness.
Really funny thing was that the bees learned quicker and managed to
maneuver better in the plane than most of the college students.
Jerry
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