The bumblebee story

[Rasmussen, Finn N.]

John Grehan quoted the well-known bumblebee-aphorism: " ... a bit like
saying the bumble bee could not fly because physicists could not provide
the mathematical proof."  Well, this is more ecology than taxonomy, but
the quote did after all appear in a thread on evolution and taxonomy.
What is the origin of this saying? Has any real physicist ever commented
on the flying capabilities of Bombus spp.? And isn't this plain
nonsense, like saying that helicopters can't fly? I guess that it is
quite easily proved physically that the thrust from the flapping wings
of a bumblebee will lift it off the ground.

Finn N Rasmussen, Copenhagen