How high can insects fly?

CrowdScience

BBC

Science

4.8 • 985 Ratings

🗓️ 4 March 2022

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you took a fly into a really tall elevator and let it out at the top, would it still be able to fly? And what’s the absolute highest an insect could possibly go? It’s a question that’s been bugging CrowdScience listener Chee for a while, but presenter Alex Lathbridge is on the case. He discovers that when they’re not buzzing around your lunch, insects can be routinely found flying high up in the atmosphere travelling from A to B. There are also ground-dwelling bumblebees living in the mountains of Sichuan, China that have demonstrated an ability to fly at altitudes higher than the highest point on the planet. But leaving aside how high insects DO fly, how high COULD they fly if given the chance? Alex explores the theoretical limits of insect flight with the help of a bit of biomechanics – before contemplating the ultimate heights of the International Space Station where the mystery of whether a fruit fly will fly in zero gravity is finally answered. Contributors: Jason Chapman, University of Exeter Inés Dawson, science youtuber and expert in insect flight biomechanics Michael Dillon, University of Wyoming Wes Shaw, Head Gardener, Sky Garden Sharmila Bhattacharya, NASA

Presented by Alex Lathbridge Produced by Ben Motley for the BBC World Service

[Photop credit: Getty Images]

Transcript

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0:00.0	Take some time for yourself with soothing classical music from the mindful mix, the Science of
0:07.0	Happiness Podcast.
0:08.0	For the last 20 years I've dedicated my career to exploring the science of living a happier more meaningful life and I want
0:14.4	to share that science with you.
0:16.1	And just one thing, deep calm with Michael Mosley.
0:19.4	I want to help you tap in to your hidden relaxation response system and open the door to that
0:25.4	calmer place within. Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:29.7	Oh wow it is super brook you can see every that's super wow
0:37.8	that's super wow that's me almost lost for words 160 meters above the ground on the 35th floor of the walkie talkie building,
0:46.3	a skyscraper in the centre of London.
0:48.8	So it's actually amazing being up here.
0:51.2	You've got Tower Bridge over there. I can see Big Ben from here.
0:54.9	Is that the London eye? I've never seen the London eye look so tiny. I'm Alex Laffbridge and you're
0:59.9	listening to crowd science from the BBC World Service, the show where we search high and
1:04.5	low for answers to your questions about life, the universe and everything.
1:09.2	And in this case, we're definitely going high.
1:11.8	It feels like when you're a kid and you play with model towns or like video games where you make cities
1:16.8	it feels like that I feel like I'm on top of the world right now. But it's not the building we're
1:21.2	interested in it's some of its residents.
1:24.0	Here's this week's question.
1:25.6	Hello crowd science, my name is Chee from San Jose, California.
1:29.0	My question is, how I can insects fly?
	...

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