Lynn Kimsey
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lynn Siri Kimsey is an
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
,
taxonomist In biology, taxonomy () is the science, scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxon, taxa (si ...
, director of the
Bohart Museum of Entomology 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 ...
and professor of entomology at the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
since 1989. Her specialties are
bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...
s and
wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
s; and insect diversity and evolution.


Career

Kimsey earned a doctorate in entomology from
UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...
in 1979 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. She holds the title of distinguished professor of entomology. Kimsey was appointed as the director of the
Bohart Museum of Entomology 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 ...
, operated by UC Davis, in 1989. Kimsey has described almost 300 new species. In 2020 she was awarded the C. W. Woodworth Award by the
Entomological Society of America The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, ...
. Her husband Robert Kimsey is a forensic entomologist in the UC Davis Department of Entomology.


Research

Kimsey studies the biology and evolution of insects, with a primary focus on the systematics and phylogeny of families
Tiphiidae The Tiphiidae (also known as tiphiid wasps, flower wasps, or tiphiid flower wasps) are a family (biology), family of large, solitary wasps whose larvae are parasitoids of various beetle larvae, especially those in the superfamily Scarabaeoidea. Un ...
,
Chrysididae Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic colors ...
,
Sphecidae The Sphecidae are a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan family of wasps of the suborder Apocrita that includes Ammophilinae, sand wasps, mud daubers, and other thread-waisted wasps. The name Sphecidae was formerly given to a much larger g ...
,
Pompilidae Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group-ne ...
and
Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The family includes some of the most commonly seen bees, including bumblebees and honey bees, but also includes stingless bees (also used for ...
. In addition, she researches the mating behavior of wasps and bees. 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. 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. Chrysalid wasps are a family of over 3000 species of wasps known commonly as gold wasps or
cuckoo wasp Commonly known as cuckoo wasps or emerald wasps, the hymenopteran family Chrysididae is a very large cosmopolitan group (over 3000 described species) of parasitoid or kleptoparasitic wasps, often highly sculptured, with brilliant metallic color ...
s. 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 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. 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 Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
, an Indonesian island near Borneo. 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: # undertake surveys of micro- and macro-organisms in forests of southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia # explore their potential as sources of natural products to address human health and bioenergy issues # develop recommendations for conservation strategies # encourage local conservation education and outreach efforts that are ecologically, economically, and socio-politically sound # develop equitable, effective international agreements relating to technology and materials transfer and benefit sharing. resources 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. The male wasp grows to two and a half inches long (6.35 cm). Kimsey named this wasp species Megalara garuda after
Garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...
, the national symbol of Indonesia, a giant, bird-like creature. Kimsey published the description of one additional species of wasp discovered in Sulawesi called Mahinda ''sulawesiensis.'' Kimsey has brought back hundreds of possible new species from the three trips to Sulawesi that have yet to be cataloged. Kimsey was a high school student when she conducted a survey of intertidal invertebrates of San Francisco Bay over 13 months from 1970–1971''.'' She collaborated with James Carleton to identify 139 living insect species. The description of this legacy collection was published in 2021.


Impact and legacy

In 2020, she became the 52nd recipient of the C. W. Woodworth Award from the
Entomological Society of America The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, ...
. Kimsey received the UCLA Senate Distinguished Scholarly Service Award in 2016. 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. 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. This case revived interest in insects in forensic investigation. 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. Kimsey freely shares her expertise with the California Horticulture Society, among other local organizations. 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. 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. Kimsey is currently editor of the Bulletin of the California Insect Survey.


References


External links


UC Davis page
* UC Davis Entomology https://entnem.ucdavis.edu/people/lynn-kimsey * Nature Paper on insects in forensics https://doi.org/10.1038/news070618-5 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kimsey, Lynn Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of California, Davis alumni University of California, Davis faculty Directors of museums in the United States American women museum directors American taxonomists Women taxonomists American women entomologists