Math Trek Math Flight of the Bumblebee By Ivars Peterson September 9, 2004 at 4:39 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print “Like the bumblebee, they said it could never fly.” A bumblebee and a swallowtail butterfly share a thistle. John & Karen Hollingsworth, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service This statement appeared a few years ago in Popular Science, starting off an article about drag racing. Indeed, the venerable line about scientists having proved that a bumblebee can’t fly appears regularly in magazine and newspaper stories.