As per a latest study by researchers from Harvard University and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, weight of pollen and nectar carried by bumblebees affects their flight patterns. Researchers said they were surprised to see the weight bumblebees can actually carry.

Study researchers conducted an experiment in their lab to know about the flight patterns and behavior of bees. The researchers were of the view that bumblebees can carry nectar inside a little pouch in their abdomen and stick pollen on their legs while they fly.

Researcher Andrew Mountcastle said bumblebees are like aerial tankers. In the experiment, the researchers affixed the bumblebees with different amount of simulated pollen and nectar and placed them one at a time in a wind tunnel inside the lab where the wind and flower targets differed.

Artificial weights were used that were attached to the bees’ legs to simulate pollen load. The researchers filmed the movements of the bees inside the tunnel. The researchers noted that the bees were more stable when carrying pollen that helped them in windy conditions but their maneuverability impeded when flying in calm conditions.

When loaded with pollen on their legs, bumblebees were able to have a stable flight in windy and even rainy conditions. In inclement conditions, bees loaded with nectar in their abdomen pouch were not stable.

The research findings also suggest that bumblebees might choose to carry pollen only during windy or rainy days.