By studying bees and their honey near decomposing human tissue, researchers at George Mason University hope to give crime scene investigators a new tool for finding the hidden dead.

With a flick of the wing, Japanese honeybees slap away ants that try to infiltrate their hive. Ants often invade honeybee nests, seeking to steal honey, prey on eggs or kill worker bees.

Japanese honey bees have been captured using a new technique called “wing-slapping” to protect their hives from intruding ants. Bees have long used the flapping force of their wings as … ...

Japanese honey bees have been captured using a new technique called “wing-slapping” to protect their hives from intruding ants. Bees have long used the flapping force of their wings as … ...

The team designed their tiny, flying robots to be significantly more agile and robust than previous iterations, drawing inspiration from the anatomy of natural pollinators like bees.

About one out of 10 wing-slaps successfully dislodged Japanese wood ants, which are almost the same size as the bees and are significantly more agile than the smaller ants.

It notes that bee wings are “not rigid, but twist and rotate during flight.” Their wings make “short, quick sweeping motions front and back, front and back” that create enough lift for flight.

Swarm of bees on Delta plane wing delays flight for several hours By . Yaron Steinbuch. Published May 4, 2023. Updated May 4, 2023, 1:35 p.m. ET. Explore More ...