When Bugs Attack a Quadcopter

by RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) | July 12, 2013 | (10) Posted in Just Fun

In this video Silly Fokker Ivor and and I are out testing props for video. As we pass through the wooded area we are going to be using for FPV we are met by some of the resident animals. It was cool seeing these while out flying our multi rotors but nothing could prepare us for what we were about to see when flying the meadow.

 



We are not sure what the bugs were do you know?
Have you ever had this happen or heard of it before?
Could flying near wasp nests or bee colonies be dangerous?

The quad used in the video is a HK450 with integrated PCB
Motors are 4 x Aerodrive 2830/11 1000kx
ESC's are 4 x Simon K 30Amp from RC Timer
Flight controller is the Naza M running V2 firmware
Props for this video were HK gemfan 8045 (now running 9x5 Graupner E-prop)
Batteries are 2 x 2650 Zippy flightmax

Thank you for looking at this content.

Kind Regards

Malc and the team

Silly Fokker RC

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by RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC)

COMMENTS

Traveller on July 12, 2013
Interesting video!
My take on your Q's is:
1: They are regular bee's
2: Yes several times during bee season (Springtime). I have also been attacked by bumblebee's several times (which sadly none of have survived). I have found out that they do only intend to attack my multi's because of the humming sound that it makes.. I think that they think it is some kind of lager bee, wasp or whatever and they tend stand there ground.
3:It's only dangerous for them and not for your multi... when i notice that they are attacking me i try to fly away as fast as possible to leave them alone and not to harm them.
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 12, 2013
I love your compassion for the humble Bee Traveller. Thank you for watching and commenting. We also fly away but that's because we are big sissy's =)

ATB Malc
Silly Fokker RC
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SoloFlight on July 12, 2013
I have never experienced this. Though i think the humming sound that your quad motors make might have atrracted the bugs. Either they are bees or wasps or similar insects. These insects speak to each other by a series of hums and by releasing certain pheromones. The humming of your quad must have attracted them. Or the swarm might have been flying above you and because one of them got hit by your prop the might have attacked.
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 12, 2013
I think you're right about the noise being the key to it's attraction. I also know that they do send out distress signals that the others react to so your theory about one being hit could well be spot on. Thank you for watching and commenting.

ATB Malc
Silly Fokker RC
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Arend on July 12, 2013
Indeed, I would also say that you were flying into swarming bees. They were flying to a new place to start a new colony, and you just flew into them. The prop drag pulled them in, I don't think they actively attacked you.
The cool thing is, we just wrote a paper about swarming:
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/10/85/20130305.abstract
and we are thinking about somehow getting quadcopters involved... and you "made that happen" lol
Cheers Arend
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 12, 2013
I forgot to mention it in the video but the insects we actually spotted ourselves were flying up out of the meadow. It was not until we watched the video that we spotted the ones at higher altitude. It was only from about 20ft we could see whatever they are flying up and attacking it. Cool that you have just written a paper on it =) Please feel free to embed the video if you like. ATB Malc Silly Fokker RC - See more at: http://flitetest.com/articles/when-bugs-attack-a-quadcopter#sthash.hHLxvQLD.dpuf
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Arend on July 12, 2013
You will crack up, I am not making this up:
I showed the vidoe to my collaborator Fred Dyer, who is a world famous bee researcher, and he and his postdoc first of all agreed that these are bees, but in particular these are drones - male honey bees. The shape of the abdomen on particular the one in your cover frame above the W is most definitely a drone. These guys have no other function than hang out and at some point mate with the queen. They sit around in fields and meadows and wait for queens flying overhead. However, besides the visual impression, the sound waves and vibrations in the air are a major turn on for them if a queen flies by. What most likely happened is that the drones sitting in the field mistook your quad for a queen and wanted to mate. The air vibrations of your quad were probably in the right frequency to turn them on. Congrats your quad is female, a very hot chick I might say, at least in the eyes of honey bee drones.
Cheers Arend
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 12, 2013
This is most awesome outcome anyone could have asked for =) A confirmation that it is bees and not only bees but what type and what the heel they're up too. I love it!
Now you're not gonna believe this but Ivor flew tonight and he was surrounded by swifts.... I guess his Quad turns them on too =) Thank you for your input.

ATB Malc
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John Public on April 11, 2015
I'm not a researcher, but I used to be a beekeeper. I too could tell that these bees are male honey bees. Ironically, they are called "Drones." It is easy to tell them from females. They are larger and their abdomens are a very different shape. (They don't have stingers.)

As a stunt, when I would show people my hives I would snatch a drone from the air with my hand. A female, of course, would have stung me.
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John Public on April 11, 2015
I used to be a beekeeper ...

This may have been a bunch of bees in a small volume of space, but it is not what is typically called a swarm. A swarm is made up of female worker bees and a new fertile queen. They are moving from their crowded old hive to start a new hive. This is the most mellow time for bees. A swarm won't attack anything. Swarms also don't fly very high in the air. There's no place to build a new hive up there.

These are male bees hoping to mate with a young queen. They don't have stingers. They couldn't attack anything even if they wanted to.

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Jake Wells on July 12, 2013
Bees. When a bee attacks and dies it releases a pheromone that tells the rest of the bees that they are in danger and where to attack. My guess is you either flew through a swarm or a swarm was close by and was attracted to the noise of the quad. When you killed one they all attacked. But I'm guessing.
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 12, 2013
I think your theory is the most likely one Jake. I know what your saying is true if the program I watched had it right. Ivor's first insect strike was quite high and it seemed to be alone. It was just after that they seem to gather in numbers so this would make your theory about spot on. Thanks for watching and commenting bud.

ATB Malc
Silly Fokker RC
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Cyberdactyl on July 12, 2013
My quad regularly gets attacked by horseflies here in the Raleigh North Carolina area, albeit no where near the quantity you're seeing. The most surprising thing is maybe 1 out of 20 actually hit the prop and are killed.
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 12, 2013
I must admit I thought it might be horse fly at one point but at closer inspection of the freeze frames this does look like a bee. I think we only hit a few out of the whole swarm. They must be very good at dodging the blades =) Thanks for watching and commenting.

ATB Malc
Silly Fokker RC
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gmyers2112 on July 13, 2013
I think that the truth is that it is a bit of both. The sound attracted the first drone (and maybe he was just the fastest one to get there). Then after he bit the prop and release his death smell, the other drones and some of the workers, attracted by both smell and hum attacked as a swarm. The best way to test it is to, next time this happens, fly quickly to a place far enough away to not be contaminated by the smell but close enough for the bees to still pick up pheromones and then land. See if the bees stick around. If they leave turn on the motors again and see if them come back.
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 13, 2013
Hmmm I hadn't thought of testing this more..... To be honest I am not sure if I wound want to put more bees at risk on purpose. We will be flying there again though so maybe we could land and see what happens if they attack again. What are we gonna do if they cover the copter though? I am not approaching a group of sex crazed angry bees =)

ATB Malc
Silly Fokker RC
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tsbanking on July 13, 2013
I had one of them sting me once after I landed. Was sitting on camera tray and I didn't see it..
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 13, 2013
Doh! =)
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Richieuk on July 28, 2013
They recently attacked my DJI Phantom while I was using FPV, I'm in Reading, Berkshire. UK looked mad on the goggles!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JfJhXzgOE4
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RCTV-UK (Formerly Silly Fokker RC) on July 29, 2013
Hi Rich

I have just added my video to yours as a response please do the same and I will approve it. So it looks like this is a little more than an isolated incident. Thanks for sharing.

ATB Malc
Silly Fokker RC

Are you a Silly Fokker?
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1aalbes1 on July 31, 2013
funny it happens more often
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John Public on April 11, 2015
Shame on me, I was inspired by this. Where I live we have a type of solitary bee called carpenter bees. They are territorial and do a lot of destruction to the wood in my house. I have in the past had bumble bees get territorial with my DJI Phantom. Sadly a few have been killed getting sucked through the props. Now I try hard to avoid hovering near bumble bees, birds, etc.

But my wife came up the idea of hovering my drone around the carpenter bees. Genius!
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When Bugs Attack a Quadcopter