Scientists Discover Bumblebee Queens That Can Survive Underwater for Days

 

Scientists Discover Bumblebee Queens That Can Breathe Underwater During Winter

What happens when a hibernating bee burrow fills with water

A newly mated bumblebee queen spends winter alone beneath the soil. After mating in late summer or early autumn she digs into the ground and enters diapause, a state where development almost stops. Months later, if she survives the cold season, she emerges in spring and creates an entirely new colony.

Life underground sounds safe. It often is. But nature does not always cooperate.

Heavy rain can saturate the soil. Melting snow can seep downward. Rising groundwater can suddenly flood the small chamber where the queen waits out the winter.

Scientists recently discovered something remarkable about how these insects survive that danger. According to a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, hibernating bumblebee queens can remain underwater for days and still survive.

What surprised researchers most is that the bees are not simply holding their breath.

They appear to extract small amounts of oxygen directly from the water.

The accidental discovery that started the entire investigation

The discovery actually began with a laboratory accident.

Conservation biologist Sabrina Rondeau had been storing bumblebee queens inside soil filled tubes kept in a refrigerator. The setup mimicked winter conditions so scientists could study their hibernation.

Condensation slowly built up inside several tubes.

Eventually some of the chambers flooded completely.

Rondeau expected the bees to be dead. Instead something unexpected happened. Once the water was removed the queens began to move again.

That moment triggered a deeper investigation. In 2024 researchers performed controlled experiments and discovered that roughly 90 percent of submerged queens survived nearly a week underwater.

I remember reading that result and stopping for a second. Bees breathing underwater is not something most of us expect.

The species scientists tested in the lab

The experiments focused on a common North American species known as the Bombus impatiens bumblebee.

During winter the body of a queen slows dramatically to conserve energy. This slowdown goes far beyond the effects of cold temperature alone. Scientists suspect the insects enter a specialized low energy state that protects them during months without food.

To understand what happens underwater, researchers measured the queens metabolic activity by tracking carbon dioxide production.

Before submersion resting queens produced about 15.42 microliters of carbon dioxide per hour per gram of body mass.

After eight days underwater that number dropped sharply to 2.35 microliters.

Scientists describe this change as profound metabolic depression.

The queen effectively reduces her energy demand by about 85 percent compared to her normal winter metabolism.

The moment scientists realized the bees were still breathing

Lower metabolism alone cannot explain the survival.

Researchers monitored the water surrounding the submerged queens. Oxygen levels inside those tubes dropped quickly compared with control tubes that contained no bees.

After eight days the water in tubes containing queens held less than forty percent of the oxygen measured in tubes without bees.

That evidence strongly suggests the insects were absorbing oxygen directly from the surrounding water.

Environmental physiologist Jon Harrison from Arizona State University commented on the discovery in an interview with Smithsonian, noting that this appears to be the first study showing a terrestrial insect like a bumblebee extracting oxygen from water.

That detail honestly blew my mind when I first read it. Bumblebees are icons of meadows and gardens. No one imagines them functioning like tiny scuba divers beneath the soil.

The bees also switch to an emergency survival system

The research uncovered another survival trick.

While submerged the queens began accumulating lactate in their bodies. Lactate forms when cells produce energy without sufficient oxygen, a process known as anaerobic metabolism.

Levels rose after four days underwater and remained high after eight days. Once the bees returned to air and recovered for a week those levels dropped back to normal.

Scientists also observed a temporary spike in metabolism when queens resurfaced. The burst likely reflects recovery as their bodies restart normal functions after the prolonged oxygen shortage.

Scientists still do not know exactly how the bees do it

One key mystery remains.

Researchers suspect the bees may rely on a physical gill system similar to those used by many aquatic insects. A thin layer of trapped air around the body could exchange gases with the surrounding water.

That mechanism has not yet been confirmed in bumblebees.

This is the part many science stories skip over. Discoveries often raise as many questions as they answer.

Why this discovery matters for bee survival

Bumblebees are not considered aquatic animals. Yet the finding may help explain how ground nesting bees survive harsh environmental conditions.

More than 80 percent of bee species nest underground, which means flooding could occasionally affect many of them.

The study also highlights a lesser discussed aspect of bee conservation. Most research focuses on pesticides, diseases and habitat loss.

Ecologist Elizabeth Crone from the University of California Davis pointed out that scientists rarely consider the winter conditions queens face beneath the soil.

Flooding during winter may be a hidden risk.

Fortunately this research suggests that at least one species is more resilient than expected.

Even if a burrow fills with water during winter, a determined queen might still survive and emerge in spring to start a new colony.

And honestly, the more I learn about these insects the more impressive they become. A creature most people barely notice buzzing through a garden may carry survival abilities that scientists are only beginning to understand.

I will definitely keep watching this line of research. Discoveries like this remind me that even the smallest animals still hold biological secrets we have barely begun to uncover.

Open Your Mind !!!

Source: ZME Science