Tardigrades Aren't Microscopic Any More

Submitted by szgarvey on February 15th, 2019

Entomologist-artist Charlotte Herbert Alberts drew the colorful tardigrade on hooded sweatshirt. She is a doctoral candidate in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) — Entomologist-artist Charlotte Herbert Alberts, shown here with a stick insect "barrette," drew the colorful tardigrade on the hooded sweatshirts. She is a doctoral candidate in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tardigrades, also known as the water bears, are microscopic animals but they're not microscopic any more!

They're featured prominently on the newly available Bohart Museum of Entomology hooded sweatshirts, the work of artist Charlotte Herbert Alberts and designer Fran Keller.

Tardigrades can survive in many extreme conditions, including space, and they're sure to survive in the Bohart--unless they're all gone soon.

Available in red, gray and black, from sizes extra small to extra extra large, they'll be offered in the Bohart Museum gift shop during the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 16. Proceeds from the sales benefit the insect museum's educational activities.

The artist? Charlotte Herbert Alberts, an entomology doctoral candidate who studies Asilidae (Assassin flies) with her major professor, Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart and UC Davis professor of entomology. Alberts cleverly drew a "Bohart Republic" water bear flag, a take-off of the California Bear Flag, except hers features an entomologist, insect net in hand, riding a huge tardigrade.

The front features a tardigrade face inside a Bohart logo, a design by Fran Keller, an assistant professor at Folsom Lake College. She received her doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, studying with Kimsey and designed many of the shirts, sweatshirts and posters in the Bohart Museum's gift shop.

UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day
The Bohart is gearing up for the eighth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Day, a science-based event that's free and family friendly. Thirteen museums or collections will be open Saturday. It all begins at 9 a.m. and concludes at 4 p.m. Maps are available at http://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/.

The Professors: Lynn Kimsey and Bob Kimsey, wearing the tardigrade sweatshirts. She's the director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis, and he's a forensic entomologist and associate adjunct professor at UC Davis. He's also the major advisor for the animal biology major. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

These seven collections will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.:

Arboretum and Public Garden, Good Life Garden, next to the Robert Mondavi Institute, 392 Old Davis Road, on campus
Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane
California Raptor Center, 340 Equine Lane, off Old Davis Road
Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Room 1394, Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane
Paleontology Collection, Earth and Physical Sciences Building, 434 LaRue Road
Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science, 392 Old Davis Road, on campus
Viticulture and Enology Culture Collection, Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science, 392 Old Davis Road, on campus

The following will be open from noon to 4 p.m.:

Anthropology Museum, 328 Young Hall and grounds
Botanical Conservatory, Greenhouses along Kleiber Hall Drive
Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building, off Kleiber Hall Drive
Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Bee Biology Road, off Hopkins Road (take West Hutchison Drive to Hopkins)
Nematode Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building, off Kleiber Hall Drive
Marine Invertebrate Collection, Sciences Laboratory Building, off Kleiber Hall Drive

All participating museums and collections have active education and outreach programs, but the collections are not always accessible to the public.

This is the back of the tardigrade hoodie, "The Bohart Republic" water bear flag. It's available in the gift shop at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The art, reminiscent of the California Bear Flag, is by Charlotte Herbert Alberts, an entomology doctoral student. The Bohart has its own bear "water bear" flag! (Photo by Fran Keller) — Charlotte Herbert Alberts, an entomology doctoral student. The Bohart has its own bear "water bear" flag! (Photo by Fran Keller)

The California Bear Flag features a grizzly bear, while the Bohart Republic flag features another bear, a water bear. The California State Legislature adopted the official version of the Bear Flag in 1911 in a law signed by then Gov. Hiram Johnson in 1911.

The Professors: Fran Keller, assistant professor at Folsom Lake College, and Jason Bond, Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, are surrounded by hooded sweatshirts available for sale at the Bohart Museum. Keller, who holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, designed the hoodies. Bond, a spider expert, will be presenting displays at the Bohart Museum's open house on March 9.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) — The Professors: Fran Keller, assistant professor at Folsom Lake College, and Jason Bond, Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair in Insect Systematics in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, are surrounded by hooded sweatshirts available for sale at the Bohart Museum. Keller, who holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, designed the hoodies. Bond, a spider expert, will be presenting displays at the Bohart Museum's open house on March 9. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)