For bumblebees, beating the odds is old hat. After all, their ability to fly was once a mystery. Now we know that bumblebee queens can survive under water — sometimes for up to a week.
Each winter, some insects go into a period of suspended development called diapause when bumblebee queens may snuggle into burrows and nod off. But their underground nests are prone to flooding, and bees in diapause are too groggy to respond quickly. So, how do they save themselves?
First, diapause cuts a queen’s metabolism by about 95 percent. What’s more, queens have evolved the ability to use the oxygen in water and expel carbon dioxide. Finally, when oxygen is scarce, cells switch to anaerobic metabolism, which allows for the generation of energy without oxygen.
It’s just another amazing bumblebee strategy.