Connected on 2007-05-16 13:00:00 from Houston, Texas, USA
- 1:21pm
- Bugscope Team Hi Voyagers
- Bugscope Team hello voyagers!!!!
- Bugscope Team Hello!
- Teacher We are here The time we had was for 1400. No Problem We are on the screen and the students are setting up their computers
- Bugscope Team great! let us know if there are any questions
- Teacher What site should the students log onto to chat? The same on e I am on?
- Bugscope Team yes
- Bugscope Team have them go to the same login page
- Bugscope Team http://discord.itg.uiuc.edu/bugscope
- Bugscope Team it will automatically recognize them and default to student login

- Bugscope Team Be sure and let us know when we can help.
- 1:26pm
- Bugscope Team We have the 'scope until 4:30 if we need it.
- Bugscope Team that's 3 hours from now.
- Teacher The students are logging on, What are we looking at now?
- Bugscope Team This is the ventral side of the body of a water beetle.
- Bugscope Team I believe we're still on the water beetle. We're seeing part of a leg at the lower right
- Bugscope Team You can take the mag down to see where you are.
- Bugscope Team the "underbelly" is filling most the screen right now
- Bugscope Team And you can move around, change focus, choose another preset...
- Bugscope Team voyagers, you have control of the scope, you should see controls on your right... go ahead and try moving around
- Bugscope Team Change brightness..
- Bugscope Team It looks like the students are all trying to access http://discord.itg.uiuc.edu, they need to add the "/bugscope" at the end
- Bugscope Team The head is to the north here.
- Bugscope Team so it should be "http://discord.itg.uiuc.edu/bugscope/"
- Bugscope Team http://discord.itg.uiuc.edu/bugscope
- Bugscope Team http://discord.itg.uiuc.edu/bugscope
- Bugscope Team http://discord.itg.uiuc.edu/bugscope
- Guest Beautiful
- Bugscope Team Hi Paul from ENN
- Bugscope Team Hello Paul. Welcome to bugscope.
- Guest Hello ---
- Bugscope Team The class is getting set up now.
- Guest Thanks -- its a fabulous site
- Guest I'm with ENN.com -- environmental news network
- Bugscope Team We're looking at the underside of a water beetle just now.

- Bugscope Team Hi cr, kj
- Guest our CEO, Lincoln Norton suggested I take a look
- Guest HI
- Guest Hello
- 1:31pm
- Bugscope Team The classroom can control the microscope, but I just made that one small change.
- Guest hey jake
- Bugscope Team Hi guys!
- Bugscope Team Hi Pearl!
- Bugscope Team Hi ana!
- Student Hello everybody
- Student hi jake
- Teacher hi
- Bugscope Team Be sure and let us know when you have questions.
- Bugscope Team Right now the computer logged in as Voyagers is the only one that can control. On request of the teacher we can transfer control to any other the other students
- Teacher hi ana
- Guest whos kj?
- Guest Khevin
- Student khivin
- Student Khevin is Kj
- Guest Khevin Jr
- Bugscope Team Paul the person driving the 'scope, usually the teacher, can see a series of preset thumbnails along the right side of chat, and he/she can also see controls, to the right of the image.
- Guest May I ask -- what exactly is that?
- Teacher what are we looking at
- Bugscope Team Students and guests do not see those features.
- Student Hello
- Student What part of the water beatle is this???
- Teacher Hi
- Bugscope Team What we are looking at now are the tips of a few tarsi and one of the lower legs.
- Bugscope Team If Voyager zooms out with the magnify control we will see more clearly this is the underside of a beetle
- Student this is a water beetle.
- Teacher hi
- Guest a water beetle -- i thought it was a lobster dinner in black and white
- Teacher Wat r we looking @?
- Bugscope Team This is on the ventral side -- the bottom side -- of the beetle.
- Teacher what is up
- Teacher cool
- Teacher how big is the water beetle?
- Student the ceiling
- Guest amazing
- Student duh!
- Teacher cool
- Teacher is that a leg?
Bugscope Team yes! you can see all the little hairs coming off of it that it uses like flippers to move through the water
- Teacher ha ha
- Teacher it looks like a leg
- Teacher is that a leg or a claw?
- Teacher what is this sapposed 2 be
- Teacher where is the bettle
- Bugscope Team The things that resemble hairs are setae, and they provide surface area -- they're like flippers for swimming.
- Teacher iz this the whole water beatle?
- Teacher i did not now that
- Student Can you change the angle of the picture????
Bugscope Team yes, but only your teacher has control now, is she still online?
- Student Neither did I
- Teacher wat is this
- Teacher hi
- Bugscope Team You guys are the ones in control of the microscope. Whichever computer is logged in as Voyager is the one controlling
- Student what is that thing that looks like a worm
- Teacher aoh
- Bugscope Team Voyagers, the person who is logged in as Voyagers has control
- Teacher yeah what is that
- Teacher dose it have bones
- Bugscope Team could be a piece of debris
- Bugscope Team Actually you cannot change the angle, exactly.
- Teacher is this a leg
- Teacher oh it looks like a worm
- Teacher what type of picture is this
- 1:36pm
- Student yes Pearl
- Teacher yes pearl
- Teacher how do u control it?
- Teacher dose it have an exoskeleton
- Student this is a water beetle

- Bugscope Team This is an electron image -- a secondary electron image.
- Teacher do water beatles have indo or exoskeltons?
- Teacher k thanx
- Teacher what are the little dot things on the body?
- Bugscope Team andrew, you have control of the scope
- Teacher what do you mean by a secondary electron image
Bugscope Team An electron microscope works much differently than a light microscope you're probably seen. Secondary electron is one kind of detector we can use
- Bugscope Team The sample is in a vacuum chamber, and we are beaming electrons at it and getting electrons -- secondary electrons -- back.
- Bugscope Team andrew, click to start moving, then click again to stop mioving

- Bugscope Team andrew, click on the screen again to stop moving
- Teacher what dose it eat
- Teacher do the little leg hairs have names
- Teacher it looks like there are bumps on it
- Bugscope Team The sample has been coated with gold-palladium alloy to make it conductive.
- Teacher this is weird
- Teacher I need the image to stop moving
- Teacher do water beatles have indo or exo skeltons?
- Bugscope Team Whoever is driving is going wild right now.
- Teacher k
- Teacher how do water beetles survive in tha water
- Bugscope Team They have exoskeletons.
- Teacher how dose it pretect its self
- Guest what are those round thigs

- Student What is that?
- Bugscope Team voyagers you now have control again. click on a preset to view a nice image
- Teacher what is this
Bugscope Team This is the sticky tape we use to hold the bugs down
- Teacher what are those black dots>
- Teacher ?

- Student What is that?

- Teacher THIS IM THING IS REEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAALY CONFUSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Teacher what is this
- Bugscope Team The can dive and carry air with them to breathe for a little while.
- Student Are these the cells or something
- Teacher dont know
- Teacher what is this

- Student What is this?
- Student very interesting
- Guest wow
- Teacher wat iz this?
- Guest What is that??
- Teacher what are those?
- Teacher what is tht
- Teacher what is that
- Teacher what are we looking at
- Guest what are we looking at
- Teacher what are we looking at
- Teacher what we lokking at here
- Teacher what are we looking at
Bugscope Team These are some hairs, called setae, covered with something we can't identify that gives it that globlular appearance
- Bugscope Team Okay this is one of the presets, on the lacewing, near or on the head, I don't remember.
- Student What are these?
- Teacher ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! that is cooooooooooooool. but weird.

- Teacher what are those bumos
- Teacher that is cool
- Bugscope Team These are tiny setae that seem to be coated with very small globs of something.
- Teacher what are those lined things?
- Teacher what is that?
- Teacher does it have the same cells as us
- Teacher thats cool
- Teacher hair to what creature?
- Teacher what are we looking at
- Teacher is this in the ocean
- Teacher cool
- Guest what bug is this
- Bugscope Team They are incredibly small! Only about 1-2 microns (millionths of a meter" wide. That's about 30 times smaller than a piece of human hair
- Student What are SETAE
Bugscope Team setae is the technical term for what look like hairs on the insects surface
- Guest That is so cool!!!!!!
- Teacher we're moving over to the corner
- Student is that a wing
- Bugscope Team This is a flying insect called a lacewing.
- Guest Were going to move over
- Student What are those pillars?
- Teacher we are going to move to the corner
- Teacher we are going to move over to the corner
- Teacher what are we looking at
- Student what is lacewing setae?
Bugscope Team A lacewing is a type of flying insect. The setae are what we call the hair-like structures
- 1:41pm
- Teacher that is awesome
- Teacher to see whatever the pillar looking thing is
- Teacher is this a hair to a creature
- Teacher wow
- Bugscope Team Setae are what we call the tiny hairs, pronounced 'see-tee.'
- Teacher what's that bumpy stuff?
- Teacher wat are we looking @ now?
- Guest What is that cord thing??
- Teacher this is a fly ?
- Guest so its tiny hairs
Bugscope Team yep, except they're cooler than our hair. some can feel motion like whiskers, some can taste or smell
- Bugscope Team voyagers: you are doing a great job of moving around, if you have any questions please feel free to ask
- Student is this more tape
Bugscope Team nope, it's more "junk" on the surface of some setae

- Student what is this?
- Bugscope Team Because they are not mammals we are not supposed to call the hairs 'hairs.'

- Teacher what part of the body is that

- Student this is so cool
- Guest What is those bouble things
- Teacher wat are we looking @ now?
- Teacher this hair is nasty

- Bugscope Team I'm not sure where we are, Voyagers should try zooming out so we can see the context
- Teacher does it have hairs
- Guest uhh
- Teacher what part of the bug is this?????
- Teacher is that poop on the hair
- Teacher wat bug are we looking @?
- Teacher what is that
- Student this is a lacewing I believe

- Bugscope Team Here you can see part of a scale, and now you can see the compound eye.
- Bugscope Team We ust have been by the eye
- Teacher what is he thing on the left
Bugscope Team a piece of dust/dirt most likely
- Bugscope Team You can focus, of course, and you can change the contrast/brightness.

- Student Ew the eye
- Teacher what part is this
- Teacher whoa, what is that?
- Student Is this the eye?
- Guest is that a eye
- Student that looks like a skeloton is it?
Bugscope Team Almost everything we'll see is technically the skeleton because insects have exo-skeletons.... their "skin" is hard and they have no internal bones like us
- Bugscope Team As Chas says, the individual facets of the eye are called ommatidia.
- Teacher what's that thing that looks like a feather?
Bugscope Team That is actually an individual scale (like a fish has scales) that came from a moth wing
- Teacher is that the eye
- Teacher what part is this
- Teacher why does it keep moving?
- Teacher wat eye r we looking @?
- Bugscope Team This is an eye, with an antenna in the foreground to the left. The feather is a scale.
- Teacher oh this is the eye
- Student Is this the eye we're looking at at?
- Bugscope Team it shouldn't be moving now.
- Teacher what is this
- Student what is the leaf looking thing on the eye?
- Guest what all that gunk around it
- Student How come there are so many ommatidia?
- Teacher is that particals from the air on his eye
- Teacher that thing that looks like a leaf, what is that?
- 1:46pm
- Bugscope Team setae can be mechanosensory or chemosensory
- Student oh now i get it
- Teacher what's that stringy stuff?
- Teacher I do not see the same image as my students. How can I get in line with them?
Bugscope Team Try refreshing once, see if that clears it up
- Guest very cool scott
- Teacher the eye looks like a flys eye
- Bugscope Team I am sorry guys, I thought this session was tonight
- Bugscope Team so the insect can use them to smell or to feel movement
- Guest specialized cells?
- Bugscope Team They are connected to the nerves through the exoskeleton.
- Guest neural cells?
- Teacher nice
- Guest ahhh
- Bugscope Team for what Paul?
- Teacher what is on the eye
Bugscope Team That's the scale from a moth of butterfly wing.... contamination from other samples in our lab probably
- Guest is that bacteria around it
- Bugscope Team Definitely specialized. They are pretty complicated, really.
- Guest connected by? neural cells? tendrils?
- Student is that a fether
Bugscope Team that is the scale from the wing of a moth
- Guest really?
- Student About how many views can it see
- Teacher we torward the eye
- Teacher if this is a eye of a fly, why is it so dirty
Bugscope Team They have no eyelids or tears. Some insects have combs or brushes they can use to help clean their eyes
- Bugscope Team Annie, who just logged on, is our entomologist.
- Teacher what type of bugs eye r we looking @?
Bugscope Team we have a spider, lacewing, beetle, hoverfly, ant and a tick
- Guest hello annie
- Teacher is that dirt?
Bugscope Team Yes, in short, it is dirt---it is dirt that we get to see up close
- Teacher there's a black bump on the eye, what is that?
- Bugscope Team hello!
- Teacher whats the biggest part of its body
Bugscope Team The biggest segment of the body is the abdomen...but just because it is big doesn't mean it is the most complex
- Student are thoses spider webs?
- Teacher we are going torward the eye
- Bugscope Team Annie see please if you can answer some of Paul's questions....
- Teacher wow
- Student what is a entomologist
Bugscope Team An entomologist is a scientist that specializes in the study of insects
- Student Hello Annie, what are we looking at?
Bugscope Team nothing right now!

- Bugscope Team you guys are asking a lot of questions, I like that
- Bugscope Team He is interested in how the setae are connected to the nervous system.
- Teacher now what is this
- Teacher are those holes?

- Student what kind of bug are we looking at?
- Teacher this is a private lesson EENPUAL
- Bugscope Team An entomologist studies insects.
- Bugscope Team I'm not sure where we've driven to now. You might want to zoom out, or try another preset
- Guest annie - what is the communication pathway between SETAE and the CNS of the critter?

- Teacher it looks like a sponge
- Bugscope Team this isn't a bug, try clicking on a preset to go back to a bug
- Student About how many views can an average fly see
Bugscope Team I don't believe anyone knows exactly how they percieve the images from the compound eye, but they eyes usually can see all the wary around from front to back
- Bugscope Team chappell you gotta chill DaddyO.


- Teacher what are those whole
- Teacher what is this?
- Teacher what is this
- Teacher oops!!! soorryy! i did not meen to say that eenpual
- Teacher i didnt know beatles had claws
- Guest What is this???
- Guest thats a claw
- Teacher is it dirty from digging?
Bugscope Team Yes, they're often dirty from the environment they were in. Sometimes mouths still have the remnants of their last meal, etc
- Student is that dirt?
- Bugscope Team This is the edge of one of the beetle claws.
- Teacher we going to the mouth
- Bugscope Team So I am sorry that I missed out on the questions about the nervous system, if you'd still like answers, can you repeat the questions?

- Guest wow!!!!!!!!
- Teacher its a mouth
- Teacher is that the mouth?
- 1:51pm
- Guest does it have teeth\
- Guest what is the pathway between the Setae and the CNS of the bug?
Bugscope Team So, each individual seta has a number of dendrites in them that terminate in the CNS. The number of dendrites vary based on the type of seta it is...(MORE)
- Teacher are those teeth or something else?
Bugscope Team The clubs at the bottom are palps, some of the many mouthparts. The hairs above I'm not sure their function
- Student THANKS
- Teacher wow!!!!
- Guest Now were looking at the mouth of a water beatle everybody!!!\
- Student are those teeth or hair?
- Teacher are those teeth
- Student is the mouth open?
- Teacher those look like teeth
- Student that is the water beetle's teeth
- Student what are the fiborous things hanging down from the mouth
- Teacher deso it have teeth
Bugscope Team not like we do, but you can barely see some nice pincers underneath all those hairs
- Bugscope Team The fibrous things are more setae that help filter out the food.
- Teacher can you tell what a insect eats by looking at it's mouth?
- Guest what are things haging out of its mouth
- Guest What does it eat
- Bugscope Team Paul this often gets frenetic, and we like that, but sometimes it's tricky.
- Teacher how does it clean it's mouth?
- Teacher do they have tung
- Guest probaly fish i guess
- Teacher its like a whale
- Guest NP
- Student What does the water beetle eats?
Bugscope Team tadpols and glassworms are the usual prey of water beetles
- Teacher what's that crumbly-looking thing by the thing that looks like a claw?
- Bugscope Team Alex is looking up what they eat, but it's probably things like daphnia.
- Guest typo
- Teacher we are goin to zoom in some

- Teacher what's the white thing in the mouth
- Guest Thank you all -- its a great program. Paul out for now -- paul@enn.com (paul schaefer, vp media)
- Teacher where do they swallow?
Bugscope Team those mouthparts would all open up there, revealing the true opening of the mouth
- Bugscope Team Cya Paul!
- Bugscope Team Thanks Paul!

- Guest Are these the roots of the teeth???
- Student what is that fuzzy thing at the bavk of the trought
- Student WHAT IS THAT WHITE THING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MOUTH
- Student what is the hole inside of the mouth for?
- Bugscope Team You can see the inside of the mouth, where there are inner jaws.

- Guest so how do pinchers work
- Teacher we're going in
- Teacher that cool
- Bugscope Team The mouth will fold open when the beetle wants to eat.
- Guest thats cool
- Student How big can the teeth get?
- Teacher do they have any way to clean their teeth?
- Teacher what are the things in the back of the mouth? Are they plants?
- Student are thoses claws
- Teacher we are going to look at a spider
- Student Let's look at the spider!
- Bugscope Team They have a whole assortment of mouthparts so they can use some to clean others
- Bugscope Team Paul is offline now...
- 1:56pm
- Student what are those claw like things in the back

- Student we're going to look at a spider.
- Teacher wow
- Guest What is this ???
Bugscope Team this is a spider!
- Bugscope Team This, now, is one of the spinnerettes.
- Guest what body part is that
- Bugscope Team Spiders have the most awesome looking setae
- Teacher what part is this?
- Student this is the spider's spinnerettes
- Bugscope Team This is where the web comes from.
- Student is that an eye?
- Bugscope Team this is near the 'butt'
- Bugscope Team The spinnerettes are where they produce the spider web silk!
- Teacher how big are they
- Teacher where is the silk stored?
Bugscope Team They actually create it through a chemical process on demand
- Guest How thick is the web??
Bugscope Team I believe even for one type of spider it can vary. I believe they can also change the chemical properties such as stickiness or durability depending on the role it plays in the web
- Student what are these ointing things
- Teacher what do they eat
- Guest cool
- Bugscope Team MORE on dendrites for Paul: the setae have different anatomy based on their function. The dendrites meet up with a sensory neuron at the base on the setae which connects with axons in the CNS
- Bugscope Team or as Chas says, it is created from components inside the spinnerette.
- Student Is the silk made from what they eat?
- Student Time to zoom in!
- Student we're going in

- Student how do they produce silk?
- Guest what are those thigs that lock like trees
- Student what is the silk made from?
Bugscope Team spider silk is a protein
- Bugscope Team Yes the silk comes from, after it's broken down, what the spider eats.
- Student What kind of spider is this?
- Teacher can we look at the part were it shoots its web out
- Guest How thick is the web??

- Teacher what is the thing on the top of the picture?
- Teacher what kind of spider is this
- Bugscope Team Right they have different kinds of web.
- Teacher are spiders hairy because the hairs stick on surfaces?
- Teacher why can't we look at it in colour?
- Teacher we are goin up to the head

- Teacher wow!

- Teacher do spiders actually have more than two eyes?
- Bugscope Team They are hairy because most of the hairs are sensory -- the hairs make the spider very sensitive to vibrations.
- Student Is this the head?
- Student what is these
- Student do they have noses?
- Bugscope Team They have eight eyes.
- Student what are the hairs on the spiders body for?
- Guest what is that
- Bugscope Team CLICK TO STOP MOVING!!!
- Bugscope Team cool


- Bugscope Team Some spiders have better eyes than others.
- Bugscope Team MORE for Paul: all sensory receptors in insects are primary sense cells...meaning that there is not a receptor potential--each cell responds individually to stimuli
- Teacher do spiders have more than two eyes?
Bugscope Team Spiders almost always have 8 eyes!
- Teacher Some people say they do
- Bugscope Team And that is all I can say, I hope you enjoyed my lecture on the insect nervous system
- Teacher ahhhhhhhhh! torn leg!
- Bugscope Team Annie Paul logged off although we can send him a transcript.
- Bugscope Team Now you can see the fangs.
- Bugscope Team Durn, that was a lot of writing there
- Student Ew what is that?
- Bugscope Team This is the biting part of the spider.
- Bugscope Team Was...
- Teacher what part of the spider r we looking @?
- 2:01pm
- Bugscope Team There's the torn limb.


- Teacher how do spiders pretect its self
Bugscope Team Depends upon the spider, large spiders, like tarantulas flick itchy hairs
- Bugscope Team poor broken leg
- Bugscope Team I just read that moth larva silk is always the same thickness and chemistry which is why they use them for farming silk (for clothes) instead of spiders where the silk width and composition varies
- Bugscope Team This is the tip (was) of one of the legs.
- Guest what are those at the the end of its legs
- Bugscope Team Good job here.
- Teacher we're going in

- Bugscope Team voyagers, you are doing an excellent job of driving!

- Student We're going in!


- Bugscope Team this is what runs along the web, what touches the web.
- Student Was this spider in a fight?
- Student thanks
- Teacher that is to cool

- Student Do spiders fight?
- Teacher cool
- Guest where does the web come out of???
Bugscope Team web silk comes out of the spinnerette

- Bugscope Team if focus in one direction makes it more dlurry, try the other way, there ya go!!!


- Teacher how big are the fangs
- Bugscope Team Most spiders just try to run away---their bite is not for defense, but for killing prey
Bugscope Team Again, depends upon the spider...little spider, little fangs, big spider big fangs :)

- Student For mates or terrotiy

- Teacher where is the spider's head
- Teacher where'; sits head
- Bugscope Team if the spider is in a fight and it gets bitten and poisoned, it can jettison that limb before the poison moves to the body.
- Guest Where is there head??
- Student wheres the head
- Teacher where's its head
- Student cool
- Teacher very cool picture scoot!
- Student We were looking at the leg
- Bugscope Team The head is where the fangs were
- Teacher is the camale spider kwown as a spider
Bugscope Team camale spider?
Bugscope Team Camel spiders are in the same Class as spiders, but they are from a different Order. So close, but not technically a spider
- Guest cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Teacher where are the fangs
- Student where are the fangs
- Teacher Hi!MT
- Student the fangs are where the head is
- Bugscope Team there are many types of spider, and we do not know which this is.
- Teacher is this the leg of a spider?
- Bugscope Team if you take the mag down you can see where you are
- Student What are we looking at right now?
- Teacher camel spider
Bugscope Team the camel spider is an Arachnida: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spider

- Teacher what spider is this



- Teacher where are we
- Teacher awesome pic!



- Bugscope Team Now you can see the head.
- Teacher that is soooo cool
- Teacher we are going to the eye
- Bugscope Team 35,000 types

- Teacher wow that very cool!!!!!!!!!!
- Student thats cool

- Student nasty

- Bugscope Team fangs!
- Teacher 35,000?
Bugscope Team We found both 35000 and 40000
- Teacher why does the spider seem to have different layers?
- Student what,is,that
- Teacher what kind of spider is that?
- Bugscope Team whoever is controlling could afford to slow down a little...
- 2:06pm

- Teacher how small r ticks?
Bugscope Team Dog ticks are a bit smaller than a pencil eraser head, deer ticks are even smaller: the size of a pin head
Bugscope Team I've seen them range from smaller than a period to bigger than a quarter

- Student oh





- Teacher awesome

- Bugscope Team now we're on the tick recurved fangs that hold the proboscis into the prey

- Guest whats that
- Bugscope Team this is the head of the tick, in the middle here
- Student How much blood can a tick hold?
- Teacher is blood the only thing ticks eat?
- Teacher how much blood does a tick suck in their life time?
- Student what r there mass
- Guest How much blood can a tick have in it's body??
Bugscope Team Lots, they fill up like a balloon, many times their own bodyweight
- Teacher is there only one type of tick?
- Teacher proboscics?

- Bugscope Team It can swell up to several times its size
- Student That's what they use to stick into you to suck up blood


- Teacher whats the total # of blood it can hold
Bugscope Team depends totally on the size of the tick
- Bugscope Team This is the business end
- Teacher do u know the average mass of a tick?
- Teacher how many types?
- Teacher do ticks eat anything else except blood
Bugscope Team not to my knowledge. some mites, however, eat the dead skin that's constantly flaking off your body
Bugscope Team nope nothing else
- Bugscope Team I bet some of them hold a ml
- Bugscope Team a milliliter
- Student how do they keep the fangs in the body?
Bugscope Team arachnids use the pressure of their "blood" to move---so the increase their "blood" pressure to stick out their mouthparts
- Bugscope Team this is the part that sticks into your skin and makes it hard to get out
- Teacher how much blood do ticks suck in their life time?
Bugscope Team I believe some of them feed once in an entire lifetime... is that right annie?
- Teacher Thats alot
- Student sory probiscus
- Student Why is the top so rough??
Bugscope Team those spines are all pointed backwards so that once it sticks in you, they stop it from getting pulled out
- Teacher how many types of tics are there exactly
- Bugscope Team proboscis -- that is the term for, usually, an extending mouthpart
- Student how big can a tic grow
Bugscope Team I have seen a tick the size of a pencil eraser when engorged with blood--GROSS
- Bugscope Team I think they have to feed between each molt
- Guest Where does the tick store the blood???
- Student how log can a tick live?
- Bugscope Team thanks annie
- Student How long is the tick's lifespan?
Bugscope Team If they don't have access to a blood meal, they can go into dormancy for a year or more
- Teacher do u know the average body weight of a tick?


- Teacher moving to a different part


- Teacher how many babies ticks have?
- Bugscope Team This tick did not get much to eat before my sister caught it

- Guest lol
- Teacher How many babyies can spiders have?

- Student why does it itch so much when you have a tick?
Bugscope Team Well, the tick injects saliva into you when it bites you to keep your blood from coagulating in its mouth and stomach. People have an allergic reaction to the saliva
- 2:12pm
- Student 8 legs
- Student because they irretate your skin
- Bugscope Team ticks are second only to mosquitos in spreading disease
- Bugscope Team I think there is something in their saliva that makes your blood flow better and also itches
- Teacher how much does it way
Bugscope Team that would depend on the tick, and how big a meal it's had
- Teacher can a tick die because of too much blood?
Bugscope Team Hmmm, I don't think so...I guess it is theoretically possible, but they probably have valves in their mouth to prevent overfeeding
- Student what is the mass of a tick
- Teacher how mean babys do they have in a year
Bugscope Team Just found this, 500-3000 eggs can be layed by one type of tick
- Teacher looking at the ant
- Student time for the ant!

- Student yes they explode
- Guest Now its time for the ant head



- Student more setea



- Teacher Mr.B asked how big is it?
- Guest an ant
- Guest How much venom does an ant give you??
Bugscope Team Only a few kinds of ants are venomous



- Student did you know that you feal there sting not there bight
- Teacher is there a roach
- Bugscope Team it just naturally looks mad
- Teacher where do the ants get their venom?
- Student What is this?
- Teacher why do ant's legs stick on any surface?
Bugscope Team they have claws at the end of their legs they can dig into the surface to hold on
- Guest what kind of ants give venom and how much???
Bugscope Team Bullet ants get their name because the sting feels like getting shot

- Teacher what does it feed on


- Teacher why' does the ant look mad


- Teacher what dose it feed on
Bugscope Team Many ants are farmers. They collect plant matter, bring it underground so that mold grows on it, then eat the mold
- Bugscope Team the ant's face is a fixed shape, and there must be some advantage in looking fierce.
- Teacher how big can an ant get?
- Teacher how big can they git
- Student Where can you find bullet ants?
- Student can it dig into glass?
- Teacher where do ants get their vennom?
Bugscope Team They have a venom gland attached to their stinger
- Teacher why do ant's stick together?
- Bugscope Team ants can be a couple of inches long, sometimes
- Teacher can it walk on glass?
- Teacher are there any bullet ants in houston?
Bugscope Team nope, unless someone brought them there
- Teacher can it walk on glass
- Guest How do ants produce venom??
Bugscope Team their bodies just produce it, the way you make spit, etc


- Bugscope Team they are different sizes depending on the species and what their job is in the colony
- 2:17pm



- Teacher how long can an ant work each day
Bugscope Team An ant could theoretically work 24 hours, but depending on the ants, some are active during the day, some at night

- Teacher how come fire ants cause such a bad reaction?
Bugscope Team some people have an extra bad reaction, an allergic reaction, called anaphalactic shock
- Student why does it burn when ants bit
- Teacher how painful is a bullet ant's bite/

- Student how come they cross there legs when there dead
- Student Where can you find bullet ants?

- Student y does it sting when they bite you
- Student typo
- Student the bite is VERY painful

- Teacher what happens if u r allergic to ants and u get bettin by 1?
Bugscope Team difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, fainting, tears, itching, pain, vomiting.... the list goes on

- Bugscope Team just the way their body is wired
- Teacher how painful is a bullet ant bite
Bugscope Team They say it is the most painful bite in the world
Bugscope Team they say it's as painfull as being shot by a bullet, hense,, bullet ant
- Teacher oh snap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Student blech

- Guest Is that his tongue??
- Teacher do ants have toungues

- Student Do ants have tongues
- Student ?

- Student it look like one more ant is inside it?


- Bugscope Team Some sting using the stinger, at the tip of the abdomen, and some bite using their jaws
- Teacher do ants have tongues
Bugscope Team no, not soft fleshy muscle tongues like us, but they do have palps that help them maneuver food
- Teacher thats cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Bugscope Team However, I have it on authority that tarantula killer stings are more painful, and dinosaur ant bite/stings are more painful
Bugscope Team I guess it is relative



- Teacher stinger here we come


- Bugscope Team They often do look like there is some other insect inside their mouths.
- Student What Julian said!
- Teacher what is the thing on the neck?
- Teacher how many different types of ants r there?
- Bugscope Team annie, you were bitten by a tarantula? that is so COOL!
- Teacher what other animals do they have on this site
- Teacher is it true that once the queen ant dies, that the hole colonie dies?


- Guest Is that a whole in its stinger??
Bugscope Team Not all ants have stingers... so that's probably just where the excriment comes out

- Student How big can the stinger get?
- Teacher do ants have wings because i've seen some with wings and some without
Bugscope Team Some ants have wings. The reproductive forms have wings, which they lose one they've mated. The workers never have wings. Most of the ants you see are females...males are seldom produced
Bugscope Team some things that look like ants with wings might be termites
- Teacher were does it get its venom from
Bugscope Team their bodies synthesize the venom just the way we synthesize tears, spit, sweat, etc
- Bugscope Team you are actually controlling a $600,000 electron microscope from Houston.
- Teacher do ants have stingers from their bottom or mouth?
Bugscope Team nope, their stingers are at the complete other end
- Student what is an "excriment"?
- Bugscope Team Looks like the stinger is missing or was not present.
- Bugscope Team excrement
- Bugscope Team whoops :)
- Teacher how do they mate?
- Teacher how many times can a ant sting you?
- 2:22pm
- Guest whats thatlittle thig

- Student has this ant all ready stung
- Teacher do they teeth
Bugscope Team They have ridges on their jaws that act like teeth...but not individual teeth like we have--d'oh
- Bugscope Team look a little north of here
- Student how come cow ants look hairy
- Guest What is that thing in the middle???????
Bugscope Team looks like a piece of dust
- Bugscope Team no they do not have teeth but their jaws may be hardened
- Teacher do ant have teeth?
- Teacher how does it digiest its food
Bugscope Team they swallow it and have primitive stomachs... more just like one long tube making up their g ut
- Student how come cow ants look hairy?
Bugscope Team ants are setae'y, not hairy. they have setae.
Bugscope Team Cow ants, or cow killers, are not actually ants...they are females of a type of wasp.
- Bugscope Team The thing in the middle is a piece of tissue or as Chas says it may be dust
- Student has this ant all ready stung?
- Teacher what's that tissue looking thing on the sides?
- Guest stiger!
- Teacher HOW DO THEY MATE?
Bugscope Team They have internal fertilization, just like humans and dogs and horses....very similar process that I will not detail here.
- Teacher r ants like bees when they sting u they die?
Bugscope Team I think if it loses its stinger it will die...I don't think ants stingers are typically barbed, so they don't stick in you like a bee
- Bugscope Team The hairiness is due to the setae that cover the body.
- Bugscope Team I think they are more like wasps -- they can sting repeatedly.
- Teacher why doesn't the stinger look dangorous up close?
Bugscope Team I don't think all ants have stingers. There might never have been one here
- Student How do they mate?
- Bugscope Team The stinger is to the north if it is there
- Student has this ant all ready stung
- Student Hoverfly wing here we come!



- Student hi?

- Bugscope Team brb






- Student What are we looking at?

- Teacher what is a hoverfly
Bugscope Team they are small flies that feed on nectar and such: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoverfly
- Student do the hairs help them fly?
- Teacher what are we lookin at
- Teacher whats a hubber fly
- Guest is that a back


- Student Is that the head?
Bugscope Team opposite end!
- Student oh...
- Teacher how fast do they fly
- Student what part of the hoverfly is this?


- 2:27pm
- Teacher why does it look like a bat?



- Guest what that
- Teacher can there only be one queen in a colonie?
Bugscope Team In most ant species yes, there is only one queen per colony. In some introduced species, like fire ants and Argentine ants, a colony can have multiple queens because the introduced species are so similar genetically



- Teacher what are the differences between different types of flies?



- Bugscope Team this is one of the eyes, and it is collapsed -- all dried out
- Guest Are those Are the queen ants bigger then this ant were looking at?????


- Teacher what is this

- Bugscope Team the queen ants are much bigger than any of the other ants
- Teacher what is this that we are looking at?
Bugscope Team well, to the top left is an eye, but i'm not sure where we are, try lowering the mag
- Teacher ttyl\
- Student are the eyes brokin
- Bugscope Team this is part of the eye, part of the inside we usually do not see, I think
- Teacher ttyl everybody!
- Student how do they decide what ant is the queen ant?
Bugscope Team The ant that has the babies is the queen ant...when a new queen is needed (when the old queen dies) the "baby queens" will fight it out to see who gets to lay eggs
- Student :(

- Student Bye





- Guest bye my peepz

- Teacher good bye
- Student bye
- Guest g2gn
- Student BYE!!! thanks!
- Bugscope Team you kids RULE!!
- Teacher BYE
- Teacher bye
- Student You too
- Student thank you!
- Bugscope Team later peep
- Student thanks

- Teacher THANK YOU
- Teacher thanks!!!
- Teacher bye!!!

- Guest this Rockz


- Teacher thanks
- Bugscope Team chowzers
- Student :D



- Guest Thank you



- Student thank you

- Teacher bye and hanks
- Bugscope Team you all ruled.
- Bugscope Team bye bye!!!
- Guest peace out!
- Student you to dude
- Teacher I KNOW WE RULE
- Student Bye! :D
- Teacher what end are we looking at?
- 2:32pm
- Bugscope Team you know it dawg
- Student bye dude
- Student bye
- Teacher you rule too
- Teacher THANK YOU. RIGHT BACK AT YOU
- Bugscope Team the one tomorrow is at 6:30
- Teacher matthew rule too
- Teacher A.M.?
- Guest BYE!!! :D
- Teacher bye
- Student or P.M.?
- Guest bye bye
- Teacher L8R G8R
- Student bye guys
- Teacher ttfn this wuz soo kool thankx 4 every thing
- Bugscope Team Cya guys. Great having you on
- Bugscope Team lasta lazanga, don't get any on ya
- Bugscope Team 6:30 p.m., with setup starting at 5:30
- Guest c u @ 6:30 dudez
- Teacher Thanks for a great session. We enjoyed this very much and look forward to visiting with you again. Thanks again...
- Student you guys rock
- Student YALL ROCK
- Bugscope Team Thanks Jarred
- Teacher ttfn...bye
- Teacher BYE. WON'T BE SEEING YOU PROBAB
- Student TTYL
- Bugscope Team thank you all
- Teacher This was so cool thanks
- Student bye
- Guest Bye-bye homies
- Bugscope Team thanks Annie
- Teacher bye
- Bugscope Team Bye all ;)