How Can Some Bees Hibernate Underwater?

Depending on their species, bees usually They live in their nests or hives. Again, some bees’ habitat may be empty trees or rock cavities.

However, according to a study It seems that a bee species can live under water for a long time. So how is this possible?

Scientists have long been studying bumblebee diapause—a form of hibernation.

Bees in diapause are generally quiet and calm. They don’t do their usual things like eat, fly around, or mate. Their diapause may sound like a nice long sleep at first, but it is quite difficult for them to survive without food for months in the cold.

This is especially difficult for wasps. Because they are It produces unmated queens in late summer. The queens then mate and store loads of food before digging small burrows in the soil and entering diapause for 6-9 months.

When winter comes, all the workers and males die, but the queen, who goes into diapause, It emerges in the spring and gives birth to a new generation of drones and workers. In addition to trying to survive, they must be ready to find a new hive location, start laying eggs, and feed and protect their colony.

On the other hand, thanks to a major error in the laboratory, it turns out that water is one of the stressors that bees have evolved to survive on.

Due to an experimental oversight, researchers at the University of Guelph found that in containers containing diapausing bumblebee queens, It causes water to accumulate accidentally.

When they drained the water, surprisingly They see that some of the wet queens are alive. Naturally, they decide to test this amazing ability.

Researchers put 143 bumble bee queens into soil-filled tubes and then tested them to initiate diapause. They carry these tubes to the cooling unit. They then added cold water to 126 of the sleepy queens while keeping 17 of them dry to serve as controls.

Half of the drowned bees are left to float on the water, while the other half is gently pressed down with a piston-like device.

The scientists then removed the queens from the water and transferred them to normal soil tubes. 8 weeks, even longer in cold storage. Thus, they all undergo an equal diapause.

17 of 21 bees participating in the 1-week swim are still alive after 8 weeks. That’s an 81% survival rate. However, the situation is not so good for bees that never get wet. 15 out of 17 dried bees lasted up to 8 weeks. This is a rate of 88%.

In summary, researchers have found that bees can survive under water for a long time, even if it is a coincidence. They have even discovered that they can hibernate.

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