Ooo...Tardigrades!

 

This week I want to tell you about another crazy little animal. They are microscopic, only composed of around 1000 cells (you have trillions of cells in you) and are almost indestructible. That means they are really hard to kill. They can form a hard shell around themselves and go into a really deep sleep. They can withstand bitter cold freezing temperatures, stay dried out of years, and even survive extreme pressure or the vacuum of space for a while and still come “back to life” when you add water! They like to live in moss and lichen (tiny plants that grow in moist places). Because of this, many people call them “moss piglets”. There might even be some on your roof or in your rain gutters! There are many varieties all around the world, even in the ocean.

The have a mouth like a straw and drink the juices out of plants or even tiny animals. Tardigrades have no lungs, clear blood, two eyespots, and lay eggs. They can live from a few months to over 2 years but can rest for years in a dried out condition. All they need is water to wake up and start crawling around again. Here is a video of one that Papaw found in some water that a student brought from their pond.

If you have a microscope, you might be able to find one by taking moss and adding a few drops of water. After a while you can put the water on a slide and look for water bears. They are kind of hard to see so it might take several tries.

Here’s a coloring page and a link to find out more! 

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/tardigrades-water-bears

Later!

Love, Papaw