Reddit frontpage bee/object

[HandyGringo]

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/UFOs/comments/1aglk7v/slowmo_1080p_240fps_caught_a_thing_zipping/


Would anyone be so kind as to weigh in, it might be stupid to even discuss it, but of course, there's a lot of debate about it on Reddit so would be nice if someone with better video skills could help clarify.

Here's photos of the object taken frame by frame. Seems to be morphed a bit by rolling shutter / digital camera

Here's a link to the full video (Including several other bees prior to the sighting at the end of the video - Google drive

To me, this is just another bee, a bit higher in the air and flying fast since it's not lingering on a flower but going from A-B. But the debate on Reddit is very lively.

 

[jarlrmai]

This one is almost a parody of UFO videos on Reddit.

Yes it's just 99.9999% another bee/insect motion blurred (high video FPS does not equal fast shutter speed, generally it's set faster but its not that fast) and if the original poster had from the beginning either said they were filming bees or uploaded the full video showing they were filming the many bees feeding on this plant initially it probably would not have got much traction.

But people saw the clip, and without any context the "want to believe" set in, and now even with the full context of the video, they will double down.

With Reddit with some videos it's like a switch gets flipped and minds cannot be changed.

 

[Mick West]

Here's a stabilized version. Looks like motion blur, and the periodic flashing from the wings reflecting the sun. I don't think you can say for sure it's a bee, but it sure looks like an insect.


There's plenty of other similar shapes

 

[HandyGringo]

Here's a stabilized version. Looks like motion blur, and the periodic flashing from the wings reflecting the sun. I don't think you can say for sure it's a bee, but it sure looks like an insect.

Thank you! The stabilized video makes it even clearer to me that it's likely a bug at least. Maybe not a bee in particular.

Do you mind these clips being reposted?

I'd like your comment but I can't yet!

 

[John J.]

I've acquired a copy of the footage and attached it below so it can be studied at leisure.

A maybe relevant bit of discussion on the Reddit page:



I don't usually look at Reddit unless it's because of a lead from here, but I think it's interesting that some of the
Reddit r/UFO users think that the film has captured a flying insect.

 

[Harabeck]

I don't usually look at Reddit unless it's because of a lead from here, but I think it's interesting that some of the
Reddit r/UFO users think that the film has captured a flying insect.

r/UFOs is very much a mixed bag. Yes, there will be wild speculation and it will get upvoted. But there will also be people making relevant observations and suggesting prosaic explanations. And while the former often get more upvotes, both kinds of comment are usually in the positive.

 

[JMartJr]

Is it possible that the rhombus shape of the "UFO bug" (which is absent in the bees around the flowers)



is some sort of bokeh thing going on?

Reminded me of the more translucent dark bokeh discussed at:

WVNY/ABC22 Transparent "Flying Saucer" on Weather Camera — Dark Bokeh? (clickable link)​

 

[jarlrmai]

More likely it's some motion blur and sharpening effect and the angle.

Other insects show stretched similar but less defined 'angled rod' shapes, some of these turn from defined bees into these shapes as they change direction/speed. If you frame by frame at 1 second and watch the 2 bees near the top left.

 

[Area 51/50]

Ha, does anybody remember "rods" from back in the day? It reminds me of that.

 

[Mendel]

More likely it's some motion blur and sharpening effect and the angle.

Before sharpening filters, motion blur was more recognisable, by the blurred edges.

The era where unedited photographs reflected reality is coming to an end. Google advertises its new phone with the ability to produce edited photographs.

 

[FatPhil]

Ha, does anybody remember "rods" from back in the day? It reminds me of that.

FLying "cigars" predate flying saucers, IIRC. (Not that I was there in the 30s to remember it first hand.)

 

[JMartJr]

FLying "cigars" predate flying saucers, IIRC. (Not that I was there in the 30s to remember it first hand.)

Goes back further than the 30s...

The mystery airship or phantom airship was an airship that thousands of people across the United States claimed to have observed during late 1896 and early 1897. Typical airship reports involved night time sightings of unidentified lights, but more detailed accounts reported ships comparable to a dirigible. Mystery airship reports are seen as a cultural predecessor to modern claims of extraterrestrial-piloted flying saucer-style UFOs.

Content from External Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_airship

Mystery airship illustrated in the San Francisco Call, November 22, 1896, from the same Wikipedia article...

 

[yoshy]

Ha, does anybody remember "rods" from back in the day? It reminds me of that.

Yep! I also remember that with better cameras, even the believer community gave up on rods after they were shown to be clearly bugs or birds appearing across multiple frames. Even one of the history channel cryptid/ufo/etc shows (or perhaps a different channel) debunked them!

 

[Ann K]

Yep! I also remember that with better cameras, even the believer community gave up on rods after they were shown to be clearly bugs or birds appearing across multiple frames. Even one of the history channel cryptid/ufo/etc shows (or perhaps a different channel) debunked them!

The first I saw of them was what appeared to be a serious article (source escapes me at the moment), with pictures taken above sinkholes in a tropical environment. That's just the kind of place I would have expected to see lots of insects, and there were obvious wingbeats visible along the "rods", so although I didn't understand the specifics of the photography, it seemed obvious to me that they were bugs.

 

[Duke]

Goes back further than the 30s...

The mystery airship or phantom airship was an airship that thousands of people across the United States claimed to have observed during late 1896 and early 1897. Typical airship reports involved night time sightings of unidentified lights, but more detailed accounts reported ships comparable to a dirigible. Mystery airship reports are seen as a cultural predecessor to modern claims of extraterrestrial-piloted flying saucer-style UFOs.

Content from External Source

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_airship

Mystery airship illustrated in the San Francisco Call, November 22, 1896, from the same Wikipedia article...

This book has been out nearly 20 years, but it's the best book on the topic I've found. Not sure I agree with some of his suppositions/conclusions, but Busby did a good job chronicling the various sightings across the country. I really enjoyed reading the newspaper articles of the day detailing airships sightings, a lot flair and colorful "witnesses."

https://a.co/d/bLBt9iR