>Jim wrote:  >>>>The energy required to hover is a tiny fraction of the
>energy required to move through the air, so not all wingbeats are going to 
>use the same amount of "muscle power".  <<<<
>
>Dick Marron wrote: Apparently this is not true. The honeybee beats her wings 
>at the same 200 240 times a second no matter how fast she is flying.

Wingbeats per second and effort are not the same thing.  For top distance
runners, cadence is pretty much independent of speed but effort is highly
dependent on speed.  To hover a bee fights gravity.  To fly at 15 mph, it
has to fight wind resistance as well as gravity.

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