High-speed footage has revealed how a honeybee performs the perfect landing.
Researchers found that the insect switches from "flight mode" to a more stable "hover mode", where it then assesses the landing ground using its eyes, antennae and legs.
After a few thousandths of a second, the bee's hind legs make contact with the ground and then it delicately lowers itself down before coming to a stop.
The research was carried out by scientists at the Vision Centre at the University of Queensland, Australia, and Lund University, Sweden, and was published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Footage courtesy of Carla Evangelista, Peter Kraft, Marie Dacke, Judith Reinhard and SBS Australia and Firefly Films Australia