Posts Tagged: tardigrade

Oh, for a Water Bear Sculpture at the Bohart Museum!

If you can picture a huge water bear (tardigrade) sculpture gracing the entrance to the Bohart Museum of Entomology on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, the scientists need your help to make it happen. Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and UC...

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, with part of the tardigrade collection. The Bohart collection includes some 25,000 slide-mounted specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, with part of the tardigrade collection. The Bohart collection includes some 25,000 slide-mounted specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bohart collection includes some 25,000 slide-mounted specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bohart collection includes some 25,000 slide-mounted specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Wonder of Water Bears, and Soon, a Sculpture at the Bohart

What a wonderful idea! The Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis boasts one of the world's largest tardigrade (water bear) collections, and what Lynn Kimsey wants to do, will certainly add to that point. Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and UC...

An artist's conception of a tardigrade sculpture in front of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

An artist's conception of a tardigrade sculpture in front of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

Entomologists Know How to Party

Entomologists know how to party. They know how to put the "boo" in biology and the "just buggin' ya" in bugs. The 21st annual Halloween party at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, drew scores of entomology enthusiasts dressed as caterpillars,...

Bug catchers Wade Spencer (far left) and Brennen Dyer, both entomoogy students, try to net a venomous caterpillar--doctoral candidate Charlotte Herbert. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug catchers Wade Spencer (far left) and Brennen Dyer, both entomoogy students, try to net a venomous caterpillar--doctoral candidate Charlotte Herbert. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

That's the spirit! From left are Julie Tillman and husband Steve Seybold and their daughter Natalie. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

That's the spirit! From left are Julie Tillman and husband Steve Seybold and their daughter Natalie. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dragonflies! Mother Jeanette Wryskinski (far right) and her son Aren Scardaci with Eve Butler. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dragonflies! Mother Jeanette Wryskinski (far right) and her son Aren Scardaci with Eve Butler. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Doctoral candidate Charlotte Herbert and her fiance, George Alberts, made this tardigrade pinata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Doctoral candidate Charlotte Herbert and her fiance, George Alberts, made this tardigrade pinata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lynn Kimsey (center), director of the Bohart, cuts the anniversary cake, as Tabatha Yang, public education and outreach coordinator disguised as a wet blanket, assists. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lynn Kimsey (center), director of the Bohart, cuts the anniversary cake, as Tabatha Yang, public education and outreach coordinator disguised as a wet blanket, assists. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey in his ghillie suit with his newfound friend, Quack. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey in his ghillie suit with his newfound friend, Quack. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why the Water Bear Is So Unusual

Imagine you're a tardigrade, aka water bear or moss piglet. You're microscopic but you're nearly indestructible. You can survive being heated to 304 degrees Fahrenheit or being chilled for days at -328 F. And if you're frozen for 30 years, you can...

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, shows a stuffed animal, a tardigrade, available in the Bohart Museum gift shop. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, shows a stuffed animal, a tardigrade, available in the Bohart Museum gift shop. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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