Bumblebee Queens Can Breathe Underwater

Bumblebee queens can survive fully submerged for up to a week and appear able to breathe while underwater. This ability helps them endure diapause, a six- to nine-month hibernation-like phase spent in shallow burrows that can become waterlogged by rain or snowmelt.

The discovery began with a lab mishap at the University of Guelph: diapausing queens left in soil-filled tubes were inundated by condensation but were still alive. A formal experiment with more than 100 Bombus impatiens queens confirmed the weeklong survival, and follow-up work using laboratory chambers and sensors showed the insects consumed oxygen and produced carbon dioxide while submerged.

Queens reduce their metabolism by about 99 percent during diapause, and it slows further underwater, so even a small oxygen supply can sustain them, the researchers found. The bees also use anaerobic respiration during inundation. Dr.

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