The robo-bees can hover on the spot, fly in any direction, and even flip 360 degrees around pitch or roll axes. Because the robots’ wings are made of a lightweight film made of mylar, the material used in space blankets, it is safe for people to work around them. The new drones, which can travel at up to 15mph, are also more efficient in their flight than those with helicopter-style blades, meaning their batteries can last longer. They can be fitted with spatial sensors so that they autonomously fly from plant to plant, avoiding each other and other obstacles as they go. Globally, the dramatically falling numbers of pollinators in recent years has been blamed, in part, on the widespread use of pesticides. It has been recently been claimed that one popular pesticide could wipe out common bumblebee populations by preventing the formation of new colonies.