From the first time I heard this bit of folklore as a child, I assumed the message was not that bumblebees are magic, but that our scientific models will likely

From the first time I heard this bit of folklore as a child, I assumed the message was not that bumblebees are magic, but that our scientific models will likely always need continued revising. The argument as to whether we actually do understand bumblebee flight is interesting to entomology, but doesn't really impact the point of the myth.