Lynn Kimsey

Last updated
Professor

Lynn S. Kimsey

PhD
Alma mater University of California, Davis
OccupationAcademic entomologist
Employer University of California, Davis
Website entomology.ucdavis.edu/faculty/facpage.cfm?id=kimsey

Lynn Kimsey is an entomologist, taxonomist, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology [1] and professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis since 1989. [2] Her specialties are bees and wasps; and insect diversity and evolution. [2]

Contents

Career

Kimsey earned a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 1979 [2] and joined the faculty of the department of entomology in 1989 as assistant professor. Kimsey served as interim chair of the department from 2008–2009. [3] She holds the title of distinguished professor of entomology. [4] Kimsey was appointed as the director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, operated by UC Davis, in 1989. [2]

Kimsey has described almost 300 new species. [2] In 2020 she was awarded the C. W. Woodworth Award by the Entomological Society of America. [5]

Her husband Robert Kimsey is a forensic entomologist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology. [2]

Research

Kimsey studies the biology and evolution of insects, with a primary focus on the systematics and phylogeny of families Tiphiidae, Chrysididae, Sphecidae, Pompilidae and Apidae. In addition, she researches the mating behavior of wasps and bees. [6] Nicknamed by her colleagues, “The Wasp Woman,” Kimsey is one of only a few scientists in the world who can identify chrysidid or tiphiid wasps to species. [7] The bulk of her research encompasses the discovery of new species of wasps since only about 60% of species have been described. Kimsey has named 250 new species and 17 new genera.

Kimsey examines global patterns of evolution in the wasp family Tiphiidae, which has eight subfamilies. [7] Chrysalid wasps are a family of over 3000 species of wasps known commonly as gold wasps or cuckoo wasps. These small wasps lay eggs in the chrysalis of butterflies or moths or the nest of unrelated species. Kimey's book Chrysalid Wasps of the World [8] presents an overview of the family, characterizing 84 genera and four subfamilies of these wasps.

Through her work at the Bohart Museum, Kimsey catalogs and examines the insect diversity of California and how this diversity contributes to local and global patterns of biodiversity. She has more than 100 peer reviewed publications. [7]

Kimsey served as part of a team of UC Davis scientists and collaborators who received a five-year $4 million grant in 2008 to study the biodiversity of fungi, bacteria, plants, insects and vertebrates on Sulawesi, an Indonesian island near Borneo. [9] There, biodiversity is considered threatened by logging operations and mining developments. The scientists planned to screen microbes and plants for applications to human health and energy needs. The aims of the project include:

  1. undertake surveys of micro- and macro-organisms in forests of southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia
  2. explore their potential as sources of natural products to address human health and bioenergy issues
  3. develop recommendations for conservation strategies
  4. encourage local conservation education and outreach efforts that are ecologically, economically, and socio-politically sound
  5. develop equitable, effective international agreements relating to technology and materials transfer and benefit sharing. resources [10]

In Sulawesi, Kimsey discovered the largest wasp species recorded to date, a so-called "monster wasp" with jaws that exceed the length of its limbs. [11] The male wasp grows to two and a half inches long (6.35 cm). Kimsey named this wasp species Megalara garuda after Garuda, [12] the national symbol of Indonesia, a giant, bird-like creature. [12] Kimsey published the description of one additional species of wasp discovered in Sulawesi [13] called Mahinda sulawesiensis. Kimsey has brought back hundreds of possible new species from the three trips to Sulawesi that have yet to be cataloged. [14]

Kimsey was a high school student when she conducted a survey of intertidal invertebrates of San Francisco Bay over 13 months from 1970–1971. [15] She collaborated with James Carleton to identify 139 living insect species. The description of this legacy collection was published in 2021. [16]

Impact and legacy

In 2020, she became the 52nd recipient of the C. W. Woodworth Award from the Entomological Society of America. [17]

Kimsey received the UCLA Senate Distinguished Scholarly Service Award in 2016. [18]

As Director, Kimsey developed and expanded the Bohart Museum to reach over 7000 students through field trips and outreach events. Under her guidance, the Museum features a gift shop with an insect petting zoo. [19]

In 2003, Kimsey's expertise in identifying insects on a rental car was instrumental for the FBI by providing evidence in the murder trial of Vincent Brothers. She identified insects that were consistent with two major automotive routes between California and Kansas; her data supported court testimony that the round trip drive accounted for the 4,500 miles on the rental car. [20] [21] This case revived interest in insects in forensic investigation. [22]

Kimsey started an insect identification hotline for California residents to phone in to aid in insect identification and potentially, pest control measures. The hotline received about 10 calls per day at a charge of $3.00 for the first minute and $1 per minute thereafter. [23]

Kimsey freely shares her expertise with the California Horticulture Society, among other local organizations. [19]

Kimsey is the only entomologist to work with the NASA SPLAT/Boeing group to research reduction in bug splats and increase fuel efficiency on aircraft. [24] Partly as a result of her research, NASA engineers developed surfaces to repel bugs. Only a small number of species including flower flies, aphids, thrips, muscid flies, midges, mosquitoes and love bugs cause the bulk of the splats.

From 2010–2015, the USDA funded the California Insect Survey (CIS) which was transferred to UC Davis. [25] Kimsey is currently editor of the Bulletin of the California Insect Survey.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entomology</span> Scientific study of insects

Entomology is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term insect was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arachnids, myriapods, and crustaceans. This wider meaning may still be encountered in informal use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xerces blue</span> Extinct species of butterfly

The Xerces blue is a recently extinct species of butterfly in the gossamer-winged butterfly family, Lycaenidae. The species lived in coastal sand dunes of the Sunset District of the San Francisco Peninsula in California. The Xerces blue is believed to be the first American butterfly species to become extinct as a result of loss of habitat caused by urban development. The last Xerces blue was seen in 1941 or 1943 on land that is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles W. Woodworth</span> American entomologist

Charles William Woodworth was an American entomologist. He published extensively in entomology and founded the Entomology Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He was the first person to breed the model organism Drosophila melanogaster in captivity and to suggest to early genetic researchers at Harvard its use for scientific research. He spent four years at the University of Nanking, China, where he effected the practical control of the city's mosquitoes. He drafted and lobbied for California's first insecticide law and administered the law for 12 years. The Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America named its annual career achievement award the C. W. Woodworth Award.

Brian L. Fisher is a field biologist who works on the systematics of arthropods, with a particular focus on ants. He has discovered over 1000 species, including 900 species of ants in Madagascar. He mainly conducts field work in Madagascar and Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trigonalidae</span> Family of wasps

Trigonalidae is one of the more unusual families of hymenopteran insects, of indeterminate affinity within the suborder Apocrita, and presently placed in a unique superfamily, Trigonaloidea, and the only extant taxon in the superfamily. The other putative related taxon is the extinct family Maimetshidae, known from the Cretaceous period. Trigonalidae are divided into 2 subfamilies; Orthogonalinae and Trigonalinae. These wasps are extremely rare, but surprisingly diverse, with over 90 species in 16 genera, and are known from all parts of the world. It is possibly the sister group to all Aculeata.

An insectarium is a live insect zoo, or a museum or exhibit of live insects. Insectariums often display a variety of insects and similar arthropods, such as spiders, beetles, cockroaches, ants, bees, millipedes, centipedes, crickets, grasshoppers, stick insects, scorpions, mantises and woodlice. Displays can focus on learning about insects, types of insects, their habitats, why they are important, and the work of entomologists, arachnologists, and other scientists that study terrestrial arthropods and similar animals.

<i>Lyctus brunneus</i> Species of beetle

Lyctus brunneus is a xylophage (wood-eating) insect a species of beetle in the family Bostrichidae. It is a member of the subfamily Lyctinae, the powderpost beetles. It is known commonly as the brown powderpost beetle or brown lyctus beetle.

<i>Megalara</i> Genus of wasps

Megalara garuda, colloquially referred to as the "King of Wasps", is a large wasp and the only species in the genus Megalara, family Crabronidae, tribe Larrini. The species M. garuda is only known from the Mekongga Mountains in the southeastern part of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It was described in 2012 by Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, and Michael Ohl, curator and head of entomology at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin. Rosichon Ubaidillah from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences also contributed the discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bohart Museum of Entomology</span> Insect museum operated by the University of California, in Davis, California, United States

The Bohart Museum of Entomology was founded in 1946 on the campus of the University of California, Davis. The museum is currently the seventh largest insect collection in North America with more than seven million specimens of terrestrial and freshwater arthropods. At least 90% of these holdings are insects. The collection is worldwide in scope with the Western Hemisphere, Indonesia, and Australasia particularly well represented.

Richard Mitchell Bohart was an American entomologist, university professor, and a member of the University of California, Davis Department of Entomology for more than 50 years. He taught courses in general entomology, insect systematics, and summer field courses in insect identification. From 1963 to 1967 he served as chair of the Department of Entomology for the University of California at Davis.

Alfred Mullikin Boyce was an American entomologist and first dean of University of California, Riverside's College of Agriculture.

<i>Polistes apachus</i> Species of wasp

Polistes apachus is a social wasp native to western North America. It is known in English by the common name Texas paper wasp, or southwestern Texas paper wasp. It has also been called the Apache wasp, perhaps first by Simmons et al. in California in 1948. Simmons et al. reported how in California P. apachus is often found in fig orchards where it is considered a pest species due to its aggressive attacks and painful stings on farm labourers during harvest time in September and October. It may sometimes also be found in other types of orchards or in vineyards, but in California it is also commonly found to establish nests in or on houses in urban areas in attics or under the eaves of buildings. It is a type of paper wasp, which is the common name for a type of wasp that uses a papery material to construct its nests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Leal</span> Brazilian entomologist (born 1954)

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Jacobus van der Vecht, nicknamed Jaap, was a Dutch entomologist who specialised in Hymenoptera, especially those of the East Indies and New Guinea.

Chrysis provancheri is a species of cuckoo wasp in the family Chrysididae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amiseginae</span> Subfamily of wasps

Amiseginae is a subfamily of cuckoo wasps in the family Chrysididae. There are more than 30 genera and 150 described species in Amiseginae. The group occurs worldwide, and they are parasitoids of stick insect eggs (Phasmatodea). Females of some genera are flightless and resemble ants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loboscelidiinae</span> Subfamily of wasps

Loboscelidiinae is a small subfamily of cuckoo wasps in the family Chrysididae. There are 2 genera and more than 40 described species in Loboscelidiinae, and they are parasitoids of walking stick eggs.

<i>Planococcus</i> (bug) Genus of bugs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Foley Benson</span> American scientific illustrator

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Hammock</span> American entomologist and toxicologist

Dr. Bruce Hammock is an American entomologist, chemist and toxicologist. He is known for his research regarding improving pest control agents, monitoring and determining the human and environmental health effects of pesticides and in medicine work on the inflammation resolving branch of the arachidonate cascade leading to a drug candidate to treat pain and inflammatory disease. Additionally, he made many advances in U.S. agriculture which led to him receiving the Frasch and Spencer Awards of the ACS and the Alexander von Humboldt Award in Agriculture. His early work tested the basic hypothesis in both insects and mammals that regulation of chemical mediators could be as much by specific degradation as by biosynthesis. He exploited this fundamental knowledge both in agriculture and in human pharmacology.

References

  1. ↑ Dyer, Brennen (2018-07-12). "Faculty & Staff". Bohart Museum of Entomology. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "UC Davis Entomologist Discovers New Species of Wasp: Gigantic Wasp with Long, Powerful Jaws". UC Davis Department of Entomology. 2011-08-19. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  3. ↑ "Lynn Kimsey, Director of Bohart Museum of Entomology, to Discuss Collecting Trip to Indonesia". ANR Blogs. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  4. ↑ "People | Entomology and Nematology". entomology.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
  5. ↑ "Winners of the C. W. Woodworth Award". Entomological Society of America. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  6. ↑ Terry, George (2019-07-29). "Lynn S. Kimsey". Entomology and Nematology. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  7. 1 2 3 "Lynn Kimsey: Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity Award from Pacific Branch, ESA". ANR Blogs. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  8. ↑ Kimsey, Lynn (1991). Chrysalid wasps of the world. oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0198540106.
  9. ↑ "Entomology and Nematology". entomology.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  10. ↑ "Biodiversity surveys in Indonesia and discovery of health and energy solutions – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS". reeis.usda.gov. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  11. ↑ "Meet the just discovered 'Komodo dragon' of wasps". Mongabay Environmental News. 2011-08-28. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
  12. 1 2 "UC Davis Entomologist Discovers New Species of Wasp: Gigantic Wasp with Long, Powerful Jaws". UC Davis Department of Entomology. 19 August 2011. Archived from the original on 12 September 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
  13. ↑ Kimsey, Lynn S.; Mita, Toshiharu; Pham, Hong Thai (2016-11-01). "New species of the genus Mahinda Krombein, 1983 (Hymenoptera, Chrysididae, Amiseginae)". ZooKeys (551): 145–154. Bibcode:2016ZooK..551..145K. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.551.6168 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   4741294 . PMID   26877668.
  14. ↑ "Lynn Kimsey, Director of Bohart Museum of Entomology, to Discuss Collecting Trip to Indonesia". ANR Blogs. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  15. ↑ "Amazing Story About What Entomologist Lynn Kimsey Recorded in San Francisco Bay 50 Years Ago". ANR Blogs. Retrieved 2023-04-25.
  16. ↑ Kimsey, Lynn (January 2021). "The first extensive survey (1970–1971) of intertidal invertebrates of San Francisco Bay, California, USA" (PDF). BioInvasions Records. 10 (1): 109–118. doi:10.3391/bir.2021.10.1.13. S2CID   234256718 – via Invasives Net.
  17. ↑ "Lynn Kimsey: Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity Award from Pacific Branch, ESA". ANR Blogs. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
  18. ↑ "Entomology & Nematology News – Agriculture and Natural Resources Blogs". ANR Blogs. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  19. 1 2 "Bohart Museum of Entomology". bohart.ucdavis.edu. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  20. ↑ Kathy Keatley Garvey (July 1, 2007). "CSI: Bakersfield.(Newsmaker)". Pest Control. Questex Media Group, Inc. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015– via HighBeam Research.
  21. ↑ How Identifying Bugs Solved the Murder , retrieved 2023-04-26
  22. ↑ ledford, heidi (June 19, 2007). "the tell-tale grasshopper". Nature. doi:10.1038/news070618-5. S2CID   162200546.
  23. ↑ anonymous (June 1996). "Creepy Crawly emergencies". Chronicle of Higher Education. 42 (42) – via Proquest.
  24. ↑ Gipson, Lillian (2015-02-25). "NASA Researchers to Flying Insects: 'Bug Off!'". NASA. Retrieved 2023-04-24.
  25. ↑ "California Insect Survey – UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS". reeis.usda.gov. Retrieved 2023-05-01.
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