Why Does a Drowned Bee Float and Bubble?

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Bees trapped in a bottle filled with juice initially float after drowning, then sink for a few days before resurfacing covered in bubbles. This phenomenon is likely due to putrefaction, where gas forms in the body after death. As the gas accumulates, it decreases the bee's density, causing it to float again. This process mirrors what occurs in human decomposition, where gas buildup leads to similar floating behavior. The presence of bubbles on the bee's body further supports this explanation.
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Near my room there's a bee trap where bees fly into a kind of bottle half filled with juice and they eventually drown. For the first 2 days after drowning the bee floats. Then it sinks for a few days, and then it floats to the top again and is covered in bubbles.
Why does this happen?
Thanks.
 
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Putrefaction will be my bet.
 
I agree with Borek. Within the first few days of a human body dieing, for instance, gas begins to form and swell in the abdomen. Something similar probably happens inside the bees...and since gas is less dense than water, enough gas must have formed to carry the bee's body to the top. This would also explain the bubbles you saw.
 

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