Bumblebee queens spend up to nine months hibernating underground — and sometimes, that ground floods. A 2021 lab accident accidentally revealed they could survive a week fully submerged. A new study out this week finally explains how: underwater breathing, anaerobic metabolism, and extreme metabolic slowdown — three survival systems running at once. Kelly breaks down the science and what it means for bumblebee conservation as flooding events increase.

Link to Smithsonian article:

Bumblebee Queens Breathe Underwater to Survive Drowning, Revealing How They Can Live Submerged for a Week

Link to the Royal Society B Research Article:

Diapausing bumble bee queens avoid drowning by using underwater respiration, anaerobic metabolism and profound metabolic depression | Proceedings B | The Royal Society

KEY SOURCES

Primary study

• Darveau, C.-A., Rondeau, S., & Rojas, S. L. (2026). Diapausing bumble bee queens avoid drowning by using underwater respiration, anaerobic metabolism and profound metabolic depression. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 293(2066): 20253141. DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2025.3141

Original flooding study

• Rondeau, S., & Raine, N. E. (2024). Unveiling the submerged secrets: bumblebee queens' resilience to flooding. Biology Letters, 20(4): 20230609. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2023.0609

Physical gill / plastron mechanism

• Flynn, M. R., & Bush, J. W. M. (2008). Underwater breathing: the mechanics of plastron respiration. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 608, 275–296. DOI: 10.1017/S0022112008002048
• Hebets, E. A., & Chapman, R. F. Physical gills in diving insects and spiders: theory and experiment. Journal of Experimental Biology.
• Thorpe, W. H., & Crisp, D. J. The water-protecting properties of insect hairs. Discussions of the Faraday Society.

Science journalism

• Smithsonian Magazine, "Bumblebee Queens Breathe Underwater to Survive Drowning, Revealing How They Can Live Submerged for a Week" (March 11, 2026)
• Science News, "Submerged bumblebee queens breathe underwater" (March 2026)
• Science (AAAS), "How bumble bees survive days underwater without drowning" (March 10, 2026)

#SecretPollinators #BumblebeeQueens #NativeBees #Bumblebees #BombusImpatiens #PollinatorConservation #BeeScience #Diapause #GroundNestingBees #ClimateChange #Pollinators #BeesOfInstagram #SaveTheBees #Smithsonian #NewResearch #WildlifeScience #PodcastEpisode