Bumblebee Queen
Can She Really Breathe Underwater?
“O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all…”
Psalm 104:24
Hi Men: How was your week “in” Christ? In light of everything going on right now, the safest place to be is for our life to be hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3). When your life is hidden in Christ, you are no longer at the mercy or events of this world. You are held by the One who holds all things together…… Do you believe this?
PHOTO ABOVE
Scientists recently discovered that bumblebee queens can survive completely submerged in water for up to a week. Not minutes. Not hours. Days.
And here’s what makes it incredible…
These bees are not aquatic. They have no gills. No visible system for breathing underwater. And yet… they live.
As researchers dug deeper, they uncovered a combination of survival systems that sound more like engineered design than random chance:
- They appear to “breathe” underwater
Oxygen levels drop in the water while carbon dioxide rises—clear evidence they are exchanging gases while submerged. - Their bodies likely trap a microscopic layer of air
Their dense, water-resistant hairs may act like a “physical gill”—similar to a built-in scuba system. - Their metabolism drops to about 5% of normal
During winter (diapause), they enter an extreme low-energy state, requiring very little oxygen to survive. - They switch to backup energy when needed
When oxygen is limited, they use anaerobic metabolism—a secondary system that allows life without oxygen. - They recover after submersion like nothing happened
Once back in dry soil, they ramp back up—restoring normal function and preparing to build an entire colony.
Most people think of bees in hives, but the majority of bee species actually live underground. Bumblebee queens spend the winter buried just below the surface in small soil chambers, waiting for spring. While buried underground, in soil that can become completely saturated with water (like snowmelt) … she survives. No gills. No air. And yet… she lives.
Only God can provide for a buried bee beneath the soil, how much more will He provide for you?
IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD
One More conversation at Walmart Vision Center……
Meet Neisy from Cuba
It was a Saturday, and I went in to pick up a remake on a lens. I only look through one eye at a time (alternating esotropia), so I don’t have binocular vision and the lens has to be made carefully.
What was amazing, on a Saturday around noon, when you’d expect it to be packed—it was just me and Neisy. She replaced the lens, and we ended up talking for no less than 20 minutes.
Bottom line: I’ll be going back to give her a Bible. She wanted all my tracts because, growing up in Cuba, communism was the religion—even though they were allowed to be identified as Catholics.
I’ll let you know how my next visit goes…
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Remember Brandon from last week? He came to my house on Monday and we had a great conversation. More later….
Onward, Christian soldiers – marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Dan
“One of the marks of people with Biblical hope is, no matter how happy their circumstances, they would rather be dead than alive”
A Difference in Perspective – Red Book Day 79
The purpose of these devotionals is to help you think Biblically
Solomon said, “As a man thinks, so is he”
FAITHFUL
I continue to amazed at Lee, Miltinnie and Jansen’s perseverance with E2!!
Worth Repeating
Next week I will tell you more about the Jesus Film Project. You will need to put your seat belt on. In the meantime, check out the Jesus Film App.
Question asked by the London “DAILY NEWS” in 1905.
Chesterton’s answer is spot on! Do you agree?
