Connected on 2008-03-19 13:00:00 from Park Ridge, IL, US
- 12:42pm
- Bugscope Team okay, presets are done, waiting for the school to login
- Bugscope Team washington school, park ridge IL























- 12:47pm

























- Bugscope Team mortal wound


- 12:54pm
- Bugscope Team hi library, welcome to bugscope
- Bugscope Team Hello Library?
- Guest Hi, I'm a librarian at an elem school in PA and was just checking out this site
- Bugscope Team Oops that was supposed to be a !
- Bugscope Team cool. a school from park ridge IL is soon to login. we'll be starting the session soon. you are welcome to watch.
- Guest we are getting ready to do a research project on insects and I wanted to see what it was like. Thanks I'll keep watching!
- Bugscope Team When someone is running a session they are given controls that you do not see right now.
- Bugscope Team if you want to apply, it's very easy to do so, just visit our website: http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu, and click on apply, or look over other parts of the website
- Bugscope Team They can drive the 'scope directly and also choose from among the presets, to the right, for places to explore
- Bugscope Team Hi Annie!
- Bugscope Team hey annie
- Bugscope Team Annie is our entomologist.
- Bugscope Team Hi!
- Bugscope Team Of sorts
- Bugscope Team She keeps us on the straight and narrow..
- 1:04pm
- Bugscope Team Smiley!
- Bugscope Team Magneto!
- Bugscope Team magneto
- Bugscope Team We are waiting for the school to connect -- any minute now
- Guest Magneto is here!
- Bugscope Team in the meantime let us know if you want to drive
- Bugscope Team Welcome Miss Smaha!
- Bugscope Team hello park ridge IL, welcome to bugscope
- Bugscope Team hey there welcome
- Bugscope Team You have control and we are ready to roll.
- Teacher Hi, It's Pat Jasinowski. The class isn't here yet, can we start in about 10 minutes?
- Bugscope Team sure let us know when you are ready
- Bugscope Team Hi Pat!
- Teacher ok, I'll go see if they're ready, and thanks again!
- Bugscope Team no problemo
- Bugscope Team We may let Magneto drive 'til then if he wants to.
- Bugscope Team Magneto you have control now...
- Guest Magneto paying attention again
- Bugscope Team Dude click on one of the presets.
- Bugscope Team or drive like now

- Bugscope Team cool -- the water bug
- Bugscope Team remember to click to stop
- 1:09pm
- Guest i wanted the eyes...

- Bugscope Team or you could run off the edge of the world

- Guest better
- Bugscope Team there are some eyes for you
- Bugscope Team mosquito for Magneto
- Bugscope Team wow, eyes and a half
- Bugscope Team you can go in and see what they look like up close

- Bugscope Team the donuts are the bases of the antennae that are missing

- Bugscope Team thanx for clarifying=)
- Bugscope Team and the eyes are the things that are slightly shriveled
- Bugscope Team thanx lol
- Bugscope Team take the mag up

- Bugscope Team Annie why did you say eyes and a half?

- Bugscope Team like you needed to be told

- Bugscope Team you can see some of the fine detail

- Bugscope Team so this is what happens when the specimen is not tried properly???
- Bugscope Team I don't think I had noticed how the eyes of mosquitos take up so much of the head
- Guest what's the limit? I'm guessing you have fool proofed it so I can't mess up...

- Bugscope Team me neither...all I see it the part they suck the blood out with...

- Bugscope Team you can go up pretty high

- Bugscope Team you can keep going until there is not much benefit to going higher

- Bugscope Team Cate did a good job setting this up
- Bugscope Team now we see charging, which is not a surprise


- Bugscope Team and some vibration/moving of the image
- Bugscope Team if we were using the 'scope we would go to a shorter working distance for better resolution
- Guest the vibrations coming from that giant magnet...?
- Bugscope Team the sample is pretty far away from the pole piece so the kids can go to low mag
- 1:14pm

- Bugscope Team there is an a/c right above the 'scope that doesnt help

- Bugscope Team even the AC can cause vibration, as can talking






- Bugscope Team this is the vestiture

- Bugscope Team focus now DaddyO

- Bugscope Team miss smaha, just let us know when you are ready
- Bugscope Team better...


- Bugscope Team this is the base of the proboscis


- Bugscope Team there it is...

- Bugscope Team you can kind of see into the tip of the proboscis



- Bugscope Team this one actually has serrations showing on the lancet portion, although it is charging, a little

- Bugscope Team see how it is covered with scales?


- Bugscope Team the proboscis is just a sheath


- Bugscope Team and the sharp part -- the lancet -- is inside


- Guest where does that thing end?
- Bugscope Team there is the end
- Bugscope Team just focus
- 1:19pm
- Bugscope Team it keeps going

- Teacher we are here now
- Bugscope Team yay ok we are set
- Bugscope Team ok, welcome students in park ridge IL
- Bugscope Team Magneto we just gave control to Miss Smaha.





- Bugscope Team Thanks for testing things out. See you!



- Bugscope Team Miss Smaha please let us know when you have questions and/or if you need any help. Looks like you are doing very well so far.

- Student why did you want to become a scientist
Bugscope Team I wanted to be a scientist because I wanted to learn about the world around me...specifically the insects around me. I also like to travel and to be outdoors, both of which I get to do as an entomologist
- Bugscope Team I did it because my other choice would have been an English teacher.
- Student what does an eyeball look like under a microscope
Bugscope Team well, a human eye might be a little big for this microscope. but insect eyes are very cool looking, preset #3 is an eye of a fruit fly.
- Bugscope Team This is cool and fun.
- Student whats oyur favorite cells to look at under the microscope
- Bugscope Team i've always been interested in science, especially since high school
- Bugscope Team a human eyeball would look kind of smooth
- Student YOu sorry
- Student your sorry
- Student what is your favorite bug ??
Bugscope Team i like lady bugs
- Student How did you get intrested in microscopes?
- Student What's the the coolest thing bout being a scientist
Bugscope Team Sharing the joy for science with others like students participating in Bugscope

- Bugscope Team we have been looking at nerve cells, mostly



- Bugscope Team we cant just look at your eye under the microscope, we would have to remove it first!

- Student what does a eyebqall look like under a microscope
- Student what do you most like about being a scientist
Bugscope Team I like the freedom to choose what I study, the excitement of learning new things and being able to travel and do field work
- Student when you look at eyes is it gross
- 1:25pm

- Bugscope Team well we can show you what a mosquito eye looks like



- Student what's your favorite specimin to look at?
- Student What is your favorite thing to look at?
Bugscope Team I use the microscope for my research...I look at longhorned beetles.
- Bugscope Team there is something about the gross factor that makes this fun
- Student woul you recomend becoming a scientist
Bugscope Team Compound eyes
- Bugscope Team this is someone's fang
- Bugscope Team insects have different looking eyeballs depending on how much they are needed or for what purpose
- Student What do you think isthe most interesting thing you've ever seen under the microscope
- Bugscope Team I would recommend it for sure.
- Bugscope Team mites are pretty cool to see
- Bugscope Team and we have seen some pretty cool devices people make for their research
- Student what is your favorite speciment
- Bugscope Team we can see carbon nanotubes, for example
- Bugscope Team scott likes to look at earwigs because they often have mites living on them (which is like a dog having a tick on it)


- Bugscope Team Yeah that is what I was going to say -- earwigs with mites
- Student Why did you want to become a scientist?
- Student wahts the most interesting thing about a miquioe

- Bugscope Team mosquito patty?
- Bugscope Team I always thought science was interesting -- you learn how things work. But you also find new questions.

- Bugscope Team deus ex machina
- Bugscope Team this is the base of the proboscis
- Bugscope Team you can see some of the scales

- Bugscope Team sorry =(
- Student What is this that were looking at?
- Bugscope Team mosquitos, moths, butterflies, skippers, and silverfish have scales
- Student What are we looking at?
- Student do you like water bugs ??
Bugscope Team I think water bugs are pretty cool...the ones that are actually water bugs and not the ones that are really cockroaches! I don't like cockroaches
- Bugscope Team Mosquitos, butterflies, and silverfish all have scales

- Student what is the coolest thing you've looked at under a microscope, as a scientist
Bugscope Team some scientists here at the beckman institute look at bone growth on special scaffolds that they make. that is very cool project.
- Bugscope Team you can see scales around where we are looking
- Student What do you do when you become a scientist?
Bugscope Team You go to school for a long time and design a research project that tests hypotheses and contributes some sort of new knowledge to the world. Then you try to find a job where you do the same thing...minus being in school
Bugscope Team I work in a laboratory. We study behavior of little rodents called voles, as well as things that are happening in the brain of these rodents.
- Bugscope Team this is the middle of the mosquito's head
- Student whats your favorite bug to look at
- 1:30pm
- Bugscope Team I am not sure what the coolest thing is. Maybe it was spirochetes, for me.


- Student what is a cimbet
- Bugscope Team this is inside a broken off antenna on a fruit fly


- Student why are there holes in the antenna

- Student Why are there holes in the antenna?
Bugscope Team i'm not for certain, but you'll see on a lot of insects that the wings and such have holes in them. this helps to reduce the weight of the insects, yet still keep the structure stable.
- Student Who or what inspired you for your job?
Bugscope Team I think I was inspired to become an entomologist by my parents and my grandparents. I spent a lot of time outside when I was a kid
Bugscope Team I have always loved science and I had one really influential teacher in high school (he taught Bio) and I had a professor who also inpsired me when I was an Undergrad in college
- Student why are there spikes in the antenna ????

- Bugscope Team it is hard to tell what those spikes were for -- they were on the inside of the antenna

- Bugscope Team whoops the preset shifted a little, but you got it back it looks like
- Bugscope Team My parents and grandparents made me play outside...and that is what ended up inspiring me.
- Bugscope Team this is a spider claw, and we don

- Bugscope Team don't know all of its functions

- Bugscope Team a lot of the spikes, or hairs, that you see on insects are called "setae". setae stick through the insects exoskeleton and transmit data to the nerves. this is how insects sense their environment.
- Bugscope Team spiders can make web that is not sticky


- Bugscope Team sadly the spider got caught in a web it looks like, so the head doesnt look very good
- 1:35pm
- Bugscope Team and if they do get stuck they can eat their own web.
- Bugscope Team which they do, normally, anyway -- they recycle their web


- Bugscope Team spider webs have a lot of protein
- Bugscope Team this is a closeup of the eye (compound eye) of a fruit fly
- Student Why does it look like there is hair on it?
Bugscope Team that's because there are hairs, or setae (see-tee) is what we call them in the insect world




- Bugscope Team you can see setae (hairs) that the fruit fly uses to assess wind speed
- Bugscope Team that is what the 'hairs' are
- Student What is the bump in the center?
Bugscope Team Pollen grain
Bugscope Team a pollen grain
- Bugscope Team this is a pollen grain
- Student would that hurt there eye
- Student the pollen grain?


- Bugscope Team no, io don't think it would
- Bugscope Team not really -- the fruit fly might eventually wipe it away

- Bugscope Team we often find pollen on slying insects

- Student why are there so many holes in the bug?
Bugscope Team what we see here (the black dots) are not holes, they are small indentations in the cuticle which have a single setae.
- Bugscope Team flying insects i mean
- Bugscope Team this is a shield bug, which is a 'true bug'

- Student what is that line in the center of that insect
Bugscope Team The line that we see is part of the proboscis
- 1:40pm

- Bugscope Team the line in the center is the piercing mouthpart
- Bugscope Team it has a sheath
- Bugscope Team true bugs have piercing mouthparts that may be used to sample fruit, or blood, or other insects

- Bugscope Team this is the haltere of the fruit fly
- Bugscope Team this punching bag looking thing is called a haltere
- Bugscope Team it balances the motion of the wings

- Student Why is it hairy?
Bugscope Team Insects are covered in hairs (or setae more accurately). The setae are connected to the insect's nervous system. The setae sense vibration, smell, taste, and communicate that information to the insect.
- Bugscope Team why is there setae on the haltere?
- Bugscope Team the halteres move in opposition to the wing movement

- Student what is the oval shaped thing in the center of the screen?
Bugscope Team that is the haltere
- Bugscope Team Good questions
- Bugscope Team insects are very hairy, it is how they can sense whats going on around them through their hard exoskeleton

- Bugscope Team those are microsetae, and they may be there to form a pattern, or keep the insect warm, in a way, or to add surface area

- Student what is that thing cuting throw that ball
- Bugscope Team they may also be called microtrichae, which also means small hairs
- Bugscope Team there is a fold in the haltere
- Bugscope Team it may be slightly deflated

- Bugscope Team yes, but why would a haltere need setae, if the function of the haltere is to help balance during flight, why would that haltere need also to trasmit data about the environment?
- Bugscope Team the microsetae may not be connected to nerves -- their bases may not pass through the exoskeleton
- 1:46pm

- Bugscope Team microsetae may have a function similar to that of scales
- Bugscope Team they may help add surface area without adding much weight

- Student What is the round ball next to the haltere?

- Bugscope Team sorry R & J I missed that


- Bugscope Team I think we saw the base of the wing next to the haltere

- Bugscope Team these are tenent setae
- Student why are there bumps on the bug?
- Bugscope Team these setae help the insect stick to vertical surfaces

- Bugscope Team bumps make the body more rigid
- Bugscope Team bumps also can help other insects identify the bug
- Student What are all thoses little balls for?
- Student what is the long thing coming out of its mouth
Bugscope Team That is the proboscis...the mosquito's mouth. It is what it sticks into your skin when it feeds on you.
- Bugscope Team the little balls are the eye facets
- Student how many eyes are on a mosquito
- Student how come it looks like there are whiskers on the mosquito?
Bugscope Team Those are sensory setae. They help the mosquito to taste and feel.
- Bugscope Team eye facets on a compound eye are called ommatidia
- Bugscope Team the two larger round things are the bases of the antennae
- Bugscope Team the antennae are gone, however
- Student what are the things on the top of the insect?
Bugscope Team Can you be a little more specific?
- 1:51pm
- Bugscope Team Hank and Chase you mean the hairlike things?
- Student yes
- Bugscope Team those are likely sensory setae
- Bugscope Team mechano and chemosensors
- Student what are the little scales on the long mouth for
Bugscope Team Scales on insects are for visual communication or to make the insect slippery and less likely to be caught by predators. The scales can just slough off when a predator (or a spider web) catches the insect. I am not sure why they have scales on their mouth though.

- Bugscope Team the scales on the proboscis probably function like feathers do for a bird
- Student Where is the mouth
- Student what are the hairs on the top
- Bugscope Team the proboscis in this case does not stick into your skin -- it is a sheath that has a lancet -- a needle like component -- inside it


- Bugscope Team some of the hairs here help filter food



- Student What's that black oval for?

- Bugscope Team this is carbon tape right now
- Bugscope Team Annie is right -- the scales can transmit colors, for example, that help other insects identify the mosquito

- Bugscope Team like feathers have colors



- 1:56pm
- Bugscope Team you can see that this guy has some scary looking fangs
- Student what is that thing coming out from the mouse?
- Student what is the thing under the mouth
Bugscope Team I think you are refering to the labial palps. Those are the fingerlike projection. The insect uses them to taste and manipulate their food.
- Bugscope Team the two things at the bottom are palps that help it eat
- Bugscope Team the things that we see that look like little legs are palps
- Bugscope Team the palps can help the insect manipulate and taste its prospective food
- Teacher thank you for your time. we are out of time.
- Bugscope Team Oohhh!!!
- Student hello
- Bugscope Team Hi Nick!
- Bugscope Team thanks you guys for all your qeustions
- Bugscope Team Thank You Miss Smaha!
- Bugscope Team questions
- Bugscope Team This was a great session
- Student bye
- Bugscope Team Bye
- Bugscope Team Bye!
- Bugscope Team Please be sure to come back!
- Bugscope Team Thanks for the good questions
- Bugscope Team I may come in later today or this evening to prep my stub. Or I might do it tomorrow
- 2:02pm
- Bugscope Team closing session
- Bugscope Team nice session everyone