Overview
- Researchers simulated winter dormancy in cold, dark conditions and submerged mated queens in airtight, water-filled chambers for up to seven to eight days.
- Across follow-up trials with more than 100 queens, survival ranged from about 81% to 89.5% after prolonged submersion.
- Gas-exchange measurements recorded continued carbon dioxide release, limited oxygen uptake via air trapped in dense body hairs acting like physical gills, and anaerobic metabolism marked by lactate buildup.
- Upon return to air, queens showed a two- to three-day metabolic rebound as anaerobic byproducts were cleared and oxygen levels in test chambers had been markedly lower than in controls.
- The peer-reviewed study, led by Canadian researchers and published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, grew from an accidental lab flooding and suggests this ability may help queens endure winter soil flooding as climates warm.