Overview
- Peer‑reviewed research in Proceedings of the Royal Society B reports that diapausing Bombus impatiens queens survive prolonged flooding through underwater respiration, anaerobic metabolism, and profound metabolic depression.
- University of Ottawa scientists induced diapause in lab‑kept queens and fully submerged them in airtight chambers for up to eight days while tracking oxygen, carbon dioxide, and lactate.
- Oxygen in the water declined and queens released carbon dioxide while submerged, indicating continued gas exchange at drastically reduced metabolic rates.
- Lactate accumulated during submersion, and after removal from water the queens showed an immediate surge in carbon dioxide output and breathed at elevated rates for several days as they recovered.
- Researchers hypothesize a trapped air layer acting as a physical gill but have not verified the mechanism, and they caution that more frequent flooding could deplete queens’ energy reserves and hinder colony founding.