In 2024, scientists had an eye-opening discovery: bumblebee queens can survive underwater for over a week. Now, a new study sheds light on how they manage this feat. It turns out these queens have a special ability to extract oxygen from water, allowing them to “breathe” even while submerged.
This skill helps bumblebee colonies endure tough times, like when their burrows flood. A healthy queen can survive and help rebuild the colony once conditions improve. The research team, led by evolutionary physiologist Charles Darveau at the University of Ottawa, emphasizes the potential of other species to adapt to challenging environments.
Every winter, some insects enter a hibernation-like state called diapause, which slows down their metabolism. Bumblebee queens find cozy burrows to rest. However, these burrows can sometimes flood due to heavy rain or snowmelt. In a recent study, scientists found that the bumblebee species Bombus impatiens survives well in these situations—about 90% of queens can endure being submerged.
The new research explains how they do it. The queens can breathe underwater through a unique combination of underwater respiration and extremely low metabolism. In lab tests, researchers submerged the queens in cold water and monitored their respiration. They observed that while the carbon dioxide levels in the water rose slightly, oxygen levels decreased. This indicated that the bees were indeed taking in oxygen from their surroundings.
Interestingly, the queens accumulated lactate, a byproduct of energy production when oxygen is scarce. Normally, during diapause, their metabolism drops by more than 95%. When submerged, this rate decreased even further. For example, before submersion, a bumblebee queen produced about 15.42 microliters of carbon dioxide per hour. After eight days underwater, that dropped to only 2.35 microliters.
This remarkable adaptation allows the queens to survive while conserving energy. However, the exact method they use to extract oxygen from water remains a mystery. Researchers suspect they may utilize a “physical gill,” which creates a thin layer of air for gas exchange.
Future studies are needed to explore how this ability works and its limitations. Understanding the mechanics could open doors to new insights into how other species might adapt in changing environments.
The research has been published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. For further details, you can find the complete study here.
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