A butterfly spotted at 5,800 meters in the Himalayas

The evolution of flight in insects has taken them into the sky at incredible heights and speeds. Flying requires creating lift, and for that we need molecules in the air, something that becomes less concentrated the higher we go. This made us wonder what is the highest height at which an insect can fly, writes Lifestyle.bg, quoted by varna24.bg .

Just because a bee doesn't want to climb Everest doesn't mean it can't.

The Guinness World Record for the highest flying insect is held by the species Aglais urticae, commonly known as the stinging nettle butterfly.

These migrating butterflies have been spotted flying over the Zemu Glacier in the eastern Himalayas at an altitude of 5,791 meters. If they were climbers, they could almost surpass Kilimanjaro with this talent, but there is actually another insect theoretically capable of climbing the roof of the world.

A group of scientists in Rilong, China captured male Bombus impetuosus bumblebees at an altitude of about 3,250 meters and put them in a Plexiglas flight chamber. They then adjust the barometric pressure in the flight chamber using a hand pump to see how this affects their ability to orbit, which is demonstrated by making controlled, vertical ascents inside the tube.

They do this at regular intervals to estimate the maximum flight altitude, revealing that bumblebees can circle at the equivalent air pressure we would find at an altitude of 9,000 meters. This is over 100 meters above Mount Everest, IFL Science reveals.