Just because there is a mathematical way to solve a problem does not mean that every solution to that problem was done mathematically.
Using calculus you can determine the flight path of a ball thrown to you and calculate the intercept point, but that's not how people catch objects in flight.
Catching a ball is reactive. I place my hand where I see the ball is going to be. The bees are not reacting. Their "decision" to set the displacement at 35% must be made before they start - not after they see the ball in the air. It is a wholly different matter.
An even more interesting question is why anything a mathematician develops theoretically in his head should have any application in the real world. For example, sitting at my desk using theoretical math, I could calculate what displacement in a pointed tetrahedral apex would result in a minimum service area. The fact that the result of such theoretical work could be observed in the real world was described by Einstein as a "miracle".