One needs to recall that on the scale of a bee, air density
becomes an important factor.  On a human scale, other
considerations tend to "swamp out" air density for subsonic
flight.  Some people say that bees "swim through the air",
which is a fairly decent metaphor.

But not only can bees fly, they can fly and hover in even very
low density air mixes, air densities that they would never
encounter under natural conditons:

http://jeb.biologists.org/cgi/reprint/198/4/1065

Yummy stuff in there - air density, wingbeat frequencies,
stroke amplitudes, Reynolds numbers, lift coefficients...

In short, it is clear that bees are better "aircraft" than
they need to be, and that not only can they fly, they can
fly under adverse conditions that would cause problems for
many human-designed propeller aircraft and helicopters.
(Jets are not a valid comparison, as they use pure brute
force to fly, and without thrust, many have the "glide"
capabilities of a brick.)

And not to worry Adrian, the study cited was done without
the use of even a single tax dollar!

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