How to find a waterbear (tardigrade) - BEST METHOD EVER!

Ive been looking at waterbears (tardigrades) for a over a year now and this, imo, is the best way to find a waterbear.

Most accounts, including myself, have often sourced waterbears from closely packed moss - this can be hit or miss sometimes. My method shown here has never let me down - I've always found my favourite type of waterbear using this method. Great activity for a rainy day :P

ENJOY!

Walt

Music: Song 1 -
Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0

Music Song 2 -
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0

[thaiandi]

I've looked at many things with the microscope but I've never looked for a tardigrade. Following your instructions, I found one first try. Thank you for sharing.

[ZaCloud-Animations___she-her]

I just can't with how CUTE they are! Just so mystifying how something microscopic can be SO animal-like! I love how they stood up & sniffed around, just like a curious bear! 🐻 And that's so cool of you to show that you release the creatures after you're done examining them (including insects). Big props to you!

[kylieshaye]

I want a pet waterbear so bad 🐻 I could watch these cuties all day

[Justice.Dodson]

Love these longer videos! Great work on the editing too 🔬

[egg_addict]

when i tried to find them i just took some well-hydrated moss, and there were a good few on a pretty small chunk of moss. I love these little guys.

[oOVanillaMelOo]

Thank you so much for this trick! I can’t wait for spring to come and try this! 😍

[JustSoDove]

What a CUTIE!!!! Thank you for sharing! I never knew about this tiny little guys!!!

[JessiesGal]

You know, one of the most shocking experiments I had done in college microbiology shocked me for the rest of my life! We went to the grocery store and bought a pound, (because there was less touching it to measure it), of fresh ground beef packaged from the deli. We took it back to the lab, set one tablespoon sized chunk in a sterilized container and sealed it. We did this with 4 other chunks to complete this side of the experiment. The rest stayed in an open container. We placed all the containers on the counter next to the window. Maggots grew in every sample! More in the uncovered and it stunk like rotten meat. Still - the sealed containers had maggots... all the maggots changed into flies. This made me think of the meat we eat, the hamburgers we eat, and the food trucks around town.... Monk is my hero...

[sandidimarco]

Thanks so much Here’s hoping I find one!

[Blitzkrieg]

This is such a great channel! So glad I found it and subscribed! Keep doing awesome stuff, man!❤️

[Twitter_Posts]

Could you do a video on human eyelashes/eyebrows? I have always heard that there are mites that live on them, but I’m not sure if I believe that. Let me know if you’ve done a video on this already! Thanks for the consideration

[CtoGuantanamo]

Hi, just curious but I only see this one has six legs as oppossed to eight. Why would that be? Thanks for the video!

[KabegamiTheGreat]

Look at his wobbly walk, doesnt seem like a bug at all

[danielovicens]

Thanks for the amazing videos and your sections of "myth buster" on those video shorts!! Keep on!!...

[dragon]

I once drank a jar that had an estimated 3 million water bears in it. Was trying to live forever.

[pavoutsinas]

what type of entry level microscope is good to see things at this magnification?

[peeron]

Hey Walt :)
Could you recommend a cool Microscope for beginners or some good in general?
Thank you!

[bananabuttons]

Whenever I see a piece of moss that has fallen off my roof, I often think and wonder how many water bears might be in there 😊❤

[bonjovirocks]

I’d like to hear the water bears’s side of the story.
“I was minding my own business after it rained, then I was exposed to harsh light and darkness... all while I truly had that creepy feeling I was being watched.” 🤣🤣🤣

[AGDinCA]

Serious question - what do you do with your sample after you are done viewing the slide under the scope? Do you just discard it? Try to pipette it back to the container it came from? Something else?

See, I have a decently large population of tardigrades that I've been cultivating for while and I love them. I regularly observe them under my stereoscope but that only shows so much. I have a compound scope, too, but I would be saddened to lose my little critters every time I wanted to observe them, and it seems inevitable that at least some of the liquid material would get lost in transit. Even a little material could be housing a water bear.

So... what do YOU do?