Thanks to Dr. P, Huey and Interiot. This is a super example of 4 people working together to craft a good, short article in jig time! --Ed Poor 16:47, 31 March 2007 (EDT)
The apocryphal story about bees not being able to fly arose because the roughness and flexibility of their wings was neglected in a quick calculation. The wings of a bumblebee bend to create vortices that provide lift on both the upward and downward strokes, and a full analysis of the bee's flight involves many factors: wing angle, wing deformation, aerodynamic and inertial forces on the wing, and so on. (PhysicsWeb)