Dr. Sabrina Rondeau, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa, made a surprising discovery that has created quite the buzz. While checking on queen bumblebees hibernating in the refrigerator, she noticed that condensation had formed inside some of the containers housing the queen bumblebees. Interestingly, the bees survived the ordeal.
Intrigued by how exposure to water might affect queen bees during hibernation, Dr. Rondeau conducted an experiment in Bombus impatiens bees. She compared bees that were not exposed to water and those either left to float in water or held underwater by a plunger for 8 hours, 1 day or 1 week.
The results were just as surprising as her initial discovery. About 88% of the bees that were never exposed to water survived up to two months. Remarkably, 81% of those submerged for one week also survived just as long. Although the bees survived, it is not known whether they had any lasting health effects from their underwater experience.
The research team suspects their resilience may be related to diapause – a dormant state that queen bumblebees can enter during hibernation for up to 9 months. Since flooding may occasionally occur in their natural environment, it is possible that the bees have evolved a natural resistance to drowning.
Source:
Sabrina Rondeau and Nigel E Raine. Unveiling the submerged secrets: bumblebee queens’ resilience to flooding. Biology Letters. 20(4): 20230609, 2024. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0609
Categories: Climate Change, Environment, Extreme Animals, Hibernation and Hypoxia, Nature's Solutions
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 