Hundreds of insect species, including the water boatman seen above, use a thin layer of air trapped around their bodies to breathe underwater.
LOL Spooky and wild but why can't we humans do this? We think we are so advanced but have to hold our breath or wear big bulky tanks to go underwater. Would be cute to travel underwater in a bubble, just keep the sharp pointy shark teeth away! :)
Of the hundreds of insect species that rely on air bubbles to dive underwater, some can use the bubbles like external lungs to stay submerged for long periods, according to new research that describes how insects manage the feat.
Scientists have known since the 19th century that when aquatic insects dive underwater, they trap an air layer similar to a thin bubble around their bodies and use this air supply to breathe.
The new study is the first to describe exactly how the insects' air layers work, said Steven Vogel, a biology professor at Duke University who was not involved with the paper.
"You might say, with only mild hyperbole, that our understanding [of the bubbles] is now complete," Vogel said.
When aquatic insects dive, the layer of air forms between their waxy body surfaces and their rough covering of hairs.
The bubble is held to their hairs by surface tension, the same force that allows a leaf to float on a pool of water.
Air pressure inside the bubble is less than that of the surrounding water, allowing oxygen to flow into the air layer and then into the insect's body via spiracles—small openings that ultimately connect to its bloodstream.
For some insects, gases are exchanged across the bubble's surface, with oxygen being absorbed from the surrounding water while carbon dioxide is expelled.
Such a system allows the bugs to submerge indefinitely, said study co-author Morris Flynn of the University of Alberta.
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