Moyock Elementary School
Session 2007-054

Application

School

Class

Project

Miscellaneous

Transcript

Connected on 2007-10-16 08:45:00 from Moyock, NC, US

• 8:28 am
• Bugscope TeamAww this is charging.
• Bugscope Teamproboscis
• Bugscope TeamHello!
• Bugscope TeamHi!

• Bugscope Teamhi joyce!

• 8:33 am

• Bugscope Teamhi joyce
• TeacherHello to you Chas, Alex, and Scott from Mrs. Metger's second grade class!
• Bugscope Teamhi class!!!!
• Bugscope Teamwelcome to bugscope
• Bugscope Teamit is a pleasure having you!
• TeacherWe have lots and lots of questions to ask. Here we go!

• Bugscope TeamHi guys, we're ready for you to start controlling the microscope and ask questions, so go right ahead!
• TeacherMackenzie asks how small is an aphid?
  Bugscope TeamAphids can be even smaller than ants. Sometimes ants essentially "farm" aphids. The ants provide protection and carry the aphids around to food sources and in tern the aphids produce a sugary substance for the ants to eat

• Bugscope TeamAphids you can still see... I will look it up but I think it is about a millimeter.

• 8:39 am
• Bugscope Teamjoyce, try lowering the magnification, that way you'll get a better look at the whole insect.
• Bugscope TeamAphids can be 1 to 10 mm long. That is a surprise -- I didn't realize they could be that long.

• TeacherMadison asks What are the part on the Monarch leg?

• Bugscope Teamthis is near the tip of the leg.

• TeacherWow! It's spiky!
  Bugscope TeamYes! One very general theme about viewing insects in the electron microscope is that they look a lot "hairer" and spikier than by the naked eye
• Bugscope TeamMonarchs have chemosensory setae on their legs, meaning that they have tiny hairs that they can smell with, and right on the tips of their legs
• Bugscope Teamthey have mechanosensors in their feet that allows them to taste and smell

• Bugscope Teamchemosensory means they can sense chemicals in the air, which is the same as smelling
• Bugscope Teamyou sent us a lot of cool stuff by the way

• Bugscope Teamjoyce, when mavigating the scope, try click to center, rather than click to drive. it's a little easier to get the hang of.
• Bugscope TeamYeah, I'm really impressed by these presets. Cool samples guys!
• Bugscope Teamand if you get lost, just click on another preset, that will take you to an interesting location

• Bugscope Teamcool!
• Bugscope Teamif you click to drive you have to click again to stop, and sometimes you don't realize you've stopped and start going again
• Bugscope TeamHey hey]
• Bugscope TeamRight in time, Annie, for a non insect.
• Bugscope Teamthis is a milkweed seedling
• 8:44 am
• Bugscope TeamAnnie is our entomologist
• Bugscope Teamhi all...good. I am making my breakfast anyway ;)
• Bugscope Teama little fiber for you, then
• TeacherKyle asks if any other insects eat milkweed besides the Monarch.
  Bugscope TeamYes, although most of the bugs that do are specially adapted to it because the milky juice is somewhat toxic
  Bugscope TeamThere is a species of longhorned beetle, the milkweed beetle incidentally, that feeds on milkweed
• Bugscope Teamgood question

• Bugscope Teammilkweed bugs do, they are the guys that are black and have little orange streaks on them
• Bugscope TeamThere are insects called Milkweed bugs that look sort of like fireflies.
• Bugscope TeamCate beat me to it!
• TeacherIt looks like a starfish. It looks like there are holes in it!
  Bugscope TeamThe wing scales are optimized to be strong but lightweight. You can see several levels of ribbing as a support structure with a thin skin over it, much like early airplanes
• TeacherMs. Kopp says it looks like her pantyhose!

• Bugscope Teamyes those are tiny holes -- you can tell that it is hollow

• Bugscope Teamnow we are looking at wing scales
• Bugscope Teamto an insect the scales are sort of like what feathers are to a bird
• Bugscope TeamI once saw a big fat caterpillar crawling on a milkweed
• Bugscope Teambut some insects have scales and do not fly
• TeacherMatthew asks, "What holds the wing scales together?"
  Bugscope TeamWell the entire insect is made of chitin and proteins...so the scales are held together by some combination of chitin and protein
• 8:49 am

• Bugscope Teamannie likes her beetles

• Bugscope Team;)

• Bugscope Teamso a scale is strong individually but not connected well to the insect
• TeacherBrendan says it looks like a rattlesnake's scales!
  Bugscope Teamthats just what I think it looks like too
• Bugscope Teamthis is the proboscis of the Monarch, and it is normally coiled up when it is not being used
• Bugscope Teamthe proboscis is the straw-like mouthpart, sort of like an elephant's trunk
• TeacherSo when the scales on a wing work together, they are strong, But when they are alone, they are weak.
  Bugscope TeamYes. Together they can propel the insect through the air, but individually they're easily enough detached that if the butterfly gets caught in a spiders web it can just shed the scales that are adhered to the silk and get away
• Bugscope TeamThe physiological mechanism that butterflies use to extend their proboscis is very similar to how those paper party horns work
• Bugscope Teamif the scales come off easily it ,means that if the butterfly is caught it can slip away by losing scales
• Bugscope TeamThey pump fluid into the proboscis to extend
• TeacherMadison asks, "What is a compound eye?"
• Bugscope TeamI don't think that's how elephants do it ; )
• Bugscope TeamI don't know anything about elephants...I am an entomologist ;)

• Bugscope Teamdo you think we could put an elephant trunk in the scope?
• Bugscope Teama compound eye has many tiny facets called ommatidia that function like lenses and produce individual images.
• 8:54 am
• Bugscope TeamWe wouldn't need a microscope to see it.
• TeacherWhen the scales come off easily, is it like when we saw a blue-tailed skink lose part of its tail when a predator got it?
  Bugscope TeamYes, very similar. Insects often will sacrifice non-essential body parts to escap predators
• Bugscope Teamsome moths and butterflies taste bad enough that the spider will just cut the web and let them loose anyway

• Bugscope Teamautotomy

• Bugscope Teama spider can autotomize a leg, meaning that it lets it fall off, if it gets poison in it from a bite and the poison might move toward the body
• Bugscope Teamso it jettisons its leg
• TeacherWe didn't know that about spiders.
• TeacherKrystal asks, "Does every insect have antennaes?"
  Bugscope TeamYes, all insects have one pair of antennae
• Bugscope TeamI guess because they are used to working with toxins they also have a defense against toxins
• Bugscope Teamooh that is a good question for Annie

• Bugscope Teamabout the antennae
• Bugscope Teamthese look like lips
• Bugscope Teamyay!
• 8:59 am
• Bugscope TeamThat is one of the features that separates insects from other arthropods
• Bugscope Teamand from non-insect hexapods
• Bugscope Teamwe were thinking that as well about the spiracle

• Bugscope Teampoop
• Bugscope Teama big string of mold spores
• Bugscope Teamwe found a bunch of this in the poo
• Bugscope Teamwhat did the poop come from?

• Bugscope Teamlovely
• TeacherHi guys. We have lost our large image of the preset, so we are using the small image.
• Bugscope Teamtry refreshing the screen (F5)
• Bugscope Teamthere might be lag too, just try waiting a bit, ah looks like you caught up now?

• Bugscope Team:)
• Bugscope Teamcan you see the spores on the big screen now?
• Bugscope TeamI was thinking that the mold spores came along after the poop was 'born,' but I wonder if the animal ate the mold spores
• 9:04 am
• TeacherKyle has a unique question, "Are there any other insects that can survive a nuclear explosion besides the cockroach!"
  Bugscope TeamI don't know definitively, but my guess is yes, lots. Particularly the smaller ones, and especially ones that live underground. To get an idea about what might survive, we can look back to what insects survived the same catastrophes that caused the dinosaurs to go extinct
• Bugscope TeamI know I like to have a big bowl of mold and milk in the mornings
• Bugscope TeamI am not sure if I should respond to that Cate
  Bugscope Teamin a way you did :p

• Bugscope TeamCockroaches are very good at surviving in a great variety of conditions, but I am sure there are other insects that will live as well
• TeacherShannon says that the chrysalis reminds her of the look of the caterpillar that made it.
• Bugscope TeamI mean, Cate, what happens after that?
• Bugscope Teamthis is one of the coolest images of the day
• Bugscope Teamvery beautiful
• TeacherLauren wants to know more about Bugscope.
  Bugscope TeamWhat part? That's pretty open-ended. The microscope, the people, ?
• Bugscope TeamYeah, this is really pretty. Scott I hope you get an XHD image of this after the session
• Bugscope Team it is really interesting to see what Shannon says -- the tiny feature reflects the whole pattern
• Bugscope Teamwe have been doing it for 8+ years
• Bugscope Teamsince Chas was 15 and a sophomore in high school
• Bugscope Teamhe is now a graduate student
• 9:10 am
• TeacherHow about the electron part of the microscope as a starter to explain Bugscope.
  Bugscope TeamThe kind of microscopes you might have in your school are light microscopes. They use glass lenses to bend light and magnify your view of the sample. The electron microscope shoots a beam of electrons, essentially a flow of electricity, at the sample and observes the interaction with the sample.
• Bugscope Teamthe microscope has a vacuum chamber that we put the samples in
• Bugscope Teamwhen they are in the chamber and it is pumped down -- the air is taken out -- we can beam electrons at the samples
• TeacherBrendan will try to move the microscope.

• Bugscope Teamgo for it brendan!

• Bugscope Teamthe electron beam hits the sample like a spotlight, and where it hits the sample, secondary electrons come out of the sample and can be collected by a detector
• TeacherThis looks like a brain. What part is this?
• Bugscope Teamthe detector gives us the images we see
• Bugscope TeamI think this is part of the chrysalis
• Bugscope Teamif you take the magnification down, to a larger view, we can see where we are
• Bugscope TeamThe microscope itself is about the size of a refridgerator. The rest of its support equipment fills a small room. It needs it's own dedicated electrical, water, and compressed air

• TeacherKrystal will be navigating next.How appropriate that she would choose chrystals!
• Bugscope Teamthis is cool. it would be good to look around here

• 9:15 am
• TeacherIt looks like coral.

• Bugscope Teamit does look like coral, and it grows the same way
• TeacherWhat part of the larva is this?

• Bugscope TeamIf you decrease the magnification a bit we can get a better look at it

• Bugscope Teamgood driving!

• Bugscope TeamIt is the mouth!

• Bugscope TeamI think
• Bugscope Teamthis is the underside, just below the head -- or that
• Bugscope Teamis where we were
• Bugscope TeamHere you can see the deflated prolegs

• Bugscope Teamor like Annie said -- the mouth
• Bugscope Teamprofessional legs

• Bugscope Teamkrystal you are doing a great job of driving the scope!

• Bugscope Teamyou can see three sets of "real" legs

• Bugscope TeamI guess they are protolegs
• Bugscope Teamreally they have real and prolegs at the same time?
• TeacherCollin is now "driving" the microscope!
• Bugscope TeamI want to go back and see that

• Bugscope TeamAwesome go for it Collin.
• Bugscope Teamgood job collin!

• Bugscope Teamnow we can see the edge of the wing
• Bugscope Teamto the right

• 9:20 am
• TeacherHow much longer do we have?
• Bugscope TeamAh we are back to the leg story, the leg show
• Bugscope Teamat least a half hour, and more if you would like

• Bugscope Teamthe little half moon things on the tips of the prolegs are called crotchets
• TeacherThis is Shannon as our microscope driver.
• Bugscope Teamthis is a place where it was hard to get a good image

• Bugscope Teamthe sample was charging up with electrons when Cate made the presets this morning

• Bugscope TeamI lost my Attachment Devices of Insect Cuticle book -- I lent it to someone and it is gone
• Bugscope TeamI need a new insect anatomy book
• Bugscope Teamyou are really sad about that book scott.
  Bugscope TeamI agree :)
• TeacherShannon wants to know if the gap is where the eyes were.
  Bugscope TeamThis is the side of the caterpillar
• Bugscope Teamyeah...

• Bugscope Teamyou should get a copy of Snodgrass 1923

• Bugscope TeamI think the cuticle cracked open there and then dried and closed again

• Bugscope Teamsometimes we do not get to see the eyes because we mount the insects on their backs
• TeacherShannon wants to know why and how the crack happened.
  Bugscope TeamBecause caterpillar cuticle has so much water in it, when the caterpillar dies, it dries up, making the once squishy cuticle hard and brittle...and hard and brittle things break easily
• Bugscope TeamCaterpillar cuticle is soft and squishy because it contains a lot of water. Caterpillars are eating machines and they need stretchy cuticle that they can grow into
• Bugscope Teamif the eyes are only on top we won't get to see them
• 9:25 am
• TeacherHere comes another question. Richard asks, "Do some insects have more than two eyes?"
  Bugscope TeamMany insects have a set of three "simple" eyes on the tops of their heads. They use these eyes to determine the position of the sun and to determine if it is night or day
• Bugscope Teammy old boss was like that -- an eating machine
• Bugscope Teamhe had to buy bigger and bigger cars
• Bugscope TeamI imagine he is driving a bus by now
• Bugscope Teamyes as Annie says a lot of insects, especially flying insects, may have five eyes
• Bugscope Teamthe three simple eyes on top of the head are called ocelli
• Bugscope Teamand the non-simple eyes are the compound eyes
• TeacherCool about the sun. One of our reading groups learned that Monarch butterflies follow the sun like a compass!
  Bugscope TeamWe are only just beginning to understand how insects use the sun and how photoperiod affects insect life cycles and life histories
• Bugscope TeamI think that is smarter than trying to follow magnetic fields, I guess unless it is dark out

• Bugscope Teamback to the poop

• TeacherHere comes Tommy, the microscope driver1
• Bugscope Teamoh yeah

• 9:31 am
• TeacherKyle asks, 'How many eggs can a queen ant have in a day?"
  Bugscope TeamWell over a thousand

• Bugscope TeamAnnie?

• Bugscope Teamyou guys are doing a great job controlling the 'scope!
• Bugscope Teamanother one of those cool little spiracles
• Bugscope Teamyes I agree with Cate you all are doing such a good job!
• Bugscope Teamin some species of course, Ants are a very specious and diverse family of insects.
• Bugscope Teamspeciose
• Bugscope Teamhahaha
• TeacherKyle is still thinking about poop when he asks, "Do bugs go to the bathroom?" and Shannnon wants to know where they go to the bathroom.
  Bugscope TeamYes, if you have every kepy a pet caterpillar...which I am guessing you guys have, you will see lots of poop.
• Bugscope Teampretty much wherever they want
• Bugscope Teamthey do not have the same sense of decorum that we do, generally
• Bugscope TeamWe call bug poop frass
• Bugscope Teamthat's right -- an entomology term
• TeacherHere comes a female microscope driver named Mackenzie.

• Bugscope TeamOr frass, if you will

• 9:36 am
• TeacherHello in Illinois, this is Poo...no relation to frass!...I sent two different kinds of chrysalises. Did you get any good images from the Monarch ones in the film container?

• Bugscope TeamCate prepared the samples and had limited space on the stub. We will have to ask her.

• Bugscope Teamthis is the monarch chrysalis here I think, which the spiracle that looks like a mouth

• Bugscope TeamThe stub is only 1.75 inches in diameter.

• Bugscope Teamwe we were near the spiracle a little bit ago anyway

• Bugscope Teamthe sample is charging up with electrons
• Bugscope Teamthe thing with the spiracle is it likes to charge up is seems

• Bugscope Teamhere is the point on the chrysalis
• Bugscope Teamhey it's the tip!
• TeacherKyle called it a button.

• Bugscope Teamneat
• Bugscope TeamThis is the place where the chrysalis attaches to the leaf or stem of the plant
• Bugscope Teamor it was
• Bugscope Teamthe chrysalis, like the other things in the 'scope,has gold-palladium on it to help make it conductive
• TeacherShane asks, "How do deer ticks make you sick?"
  Bugscope TeamSome deer ticks carry a bacteria in their saliva that gets into human blood when they bite them, and the bacteria multiplies in human blood and makes you sick
• 9:41 am
• TeacherHere comes John, our newest microscope driver.
• Bugscope Teambut for some reason it is not grounded very well, and that is why we were getting those bright, poor images

• Bugscope Teamticks can transmit human diseases such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, equine encephalitis, Colorado tick fever, and several forms of ehrlichiosis
• Bugscope Teamdeer ticks may also carry nerve toxins (neurotoxins) in their saliva that can make you sick
• TeacherShane says, "So their spit goes into your blood and makes you sick?'
  Bugscope TeamIt is the bacteria in the spit that makes you sick, not the spit itself

• Bugscope Teamyes that is what happens; sometimes they can cause what is called tick paralyisis
  Bugscope TeamBut, I think that is pretty rare though...

• Bugscope Teamwikipedia says only the mosquito is a greater transmitter of human desease
  Bugscope TeamThat is true. Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet!!!
• 9:47 am
• TeacherChristin wonders about the real size of this larva.
  Bugscope TeamMonarch caterpillars are about 2-3 inches long when they are full-grown
• TeacherHere is Madison on the approach as our next driver.

• Bugscope TeamMore humans die and become sick from mosquito vectored diseases than from lion bites, shark attacks, buffalo stampedes and probably all other mammal-related causes combined

• Bugscope Teamthe micron bar in the lower left corner of the screen lets you get an idea of the size of the sample
• TeacherShane asks, "What is that?"

• Bugscope Teamso when we were looking at the larva, the micron bar was actually a millimeter
• Bugscope Teamand the larva was several mm long

• Bugscope Teamthe part of the larva we were looking at was dried and shriveled, and like Annie says the caterpillars can be 2 or 3 inches long

• Bugscope Teamthere are 25.4 mm in an inch, so what we saw was much smaller than the real size of the juicy caterpillar
• TeacherAre these the eyes?
• 9:52 am
• Bugscope TeamI didn't see them. We may have to have Annie drive us to where they are.
• Bugscope TeamNo we are looking at part of the caterpillars mouth, I think
• TeacherAnother Madison asks, "Do some insects have more than two eyes?"
  Bugscope TeamYes, some insects have three "simple" eyes on the tops of their heads.
• Bugscope Teamthe simple eyes were on the caterpillar that was laying on its side

• Bugscope Teamsome insects have 3 simple eyes and two compound, or complex, eyes
• Bugscope Teamin insects like fruit flies a very large portion of the brain is devoted to sight
• Bugscope Teamby simple eyes, you mean ones that are not compound eyes, right?
• Bugscope Teamyeah the ocelli, which resemble spider eyes
• TeacherHello friends in Illinois...we will have one more driver and then we will have to stop for today.

• TeacherOur final navigator is Shane.
• Bugscope Teamright...I should be more precise
• Bugscope TeamAll of you have done such a good job today.

• Bugscope Teamno, you were good, i was just wondering!

• Bugscope TeamAnnie we would be in trouble without you. I would be telling the kids that lobsters are among the largest insects.
• TeacherShane was asking if the image on the lower right is the stomach.
• Bugscope Teamand i would be calling all these animals bugs...
• Bugscope TeamAnd that there is a conspiracy among entomologists and seafood providers not to let us know.
• 9:57 am
• TeacherJohn asks, "Why do butterflies have that name?"
  Bugscope TeamI think it goes back to pre-Shakespearian England...it is a corruption of "flutter-by", I believe
• Bugscope Teamhahaha! I kind of think lobsters are very similar to insects
• Bugscope Teamlooks like the former contents of the stomach to me
• TeacherTo finish our lesson for today, here are a few final questions from my students:
• Bugscope Teamoh that makes sense annie
• TeacherCollin asks, "How many legs does a mosquito have?"
• TeacherChelsey asks, " How can a water beetle stay under water?"
  Bugscope TeamWater beetles have a couple of strategies to stay under water. Some carry a little bubble of air with them that they use as a kind of scuba tank. Others have hairs that grab tiny bubble of air that covers their entire body. They do have to come up eventually to get more air
• TeacherMatthew asks, "How can a dragonfly go so fast?"
  Bugscope TeamDragonflies are very acrobatic fliers in part because they have very good vision and they can navigate well
• Bugscope Teammosquitoes are insects, and they are adult insects, so they have six legs
• Bugscope Teamthe dragonfly has four wings and is very light and streamlined
• Bugscope TeamI imagine that is why it can go so fast
• Bugscope Teamdragonflies have been around for a very long time -- they were hanging around when the dinosaurs were here
• TeacherHere is what we have learned about how butterflies survive because of the way their bodies are made.
• TeacherKyle thinks that the proboscis helps them drink.
  Bugscope TeamThat is true, they have a long straw-like proboscis that allows them to drink nectar from flowers as adults
• 10:03 am
• Bugscope Teamannie, do dragonflys have compound eyes or ocili like spiders do?
  Bugscope TeamThey have large compound eyes, and a set of small ocelli (I believe)
• TeacherMackenzie learned that the chrysalis has a thing that looks like lips on it. (Could you all explain what what part is for, please.)
  Bugscope TeamWhen an insect is in its chrysalis it is alive...and it has to breathe. The lip-looking part was a spiracle...kind of like an air hole
• Bugscope TeamAnnie is right -- dragonflies have huge eyes, and they are predators. They have to be very maneuverable.
• Bugscope Teamthe things that look like lips are spiracles
• TeacherKyle knows that the hairs on butterfly legs help them keep grip.
  Bugscope TeamHairs on the legs of the butterfly also help it to feel and to even taste!
• Bugscope Teamon an adult insect there are two spiracles on each body segment
• Bugscope Teamsome of the hairs help them grip, and scratch, and some help them taste their food
• TeacherWe learned that caterpillars are made up of mostly water.
• TeacherMatthew says thank you for your kindness and telling us stuff.
• Bugscope TeamI think people are made up of mostly water as well.
  Bugscope TeamI was going to say that
• Bugscope TeamThank You Matthew!
• TeacherKyle says he hopes you have lots of good results to all of our questions in Illinois.
• TeacherCollin thanks you for telling us the answers to our questions.
• Bugscope TeamThank you all for a very nice session. Great questions!
• Bugscope Teamthank you students, you were all very good at controlling the microscope. you can brag to your friends that you got to control a $750,000 electron microscope today!
• TeacherShane thanks you for telling us all about the stuff so that we can be smarter adults.
• Bugscope Teamwe appreciate getting to work with you and would like to do it again, like next year?
• TeacherKrystal thanks you for teaching us more about bugs.
• TeacherMadison thanks you for showing us all the stuff and being nice.
• Bugscope TeamI am sure you will all turn out to be very smart adults!
• TeacherAnother Madison thanks you for sharing all of the stuff.
• TeacherJohn thanks you for your cooperation.
• 10:08 am
• TeacherKatelynn likes butterflies!
• Bugscope Teamthank you for sending us the cool stuff to look at
• Bugscope Teamwe liked the milkweed seedling
• Bugscope Teamwe have never seen one before
• TeacherKyle thanks you for all of your hard work and for studying with us. He wants you to study with us again next year.
• Bugscope Teamand the cool cool spiracle we will be able to make into an image of the week
• Bugscope Teamyay Kyle we would like to see you again next year as well
• Bugscope Teamwe would be happy to do another bugscope session with you all. just fill out another application.
• TeacherWell, I am totally impressed with Bugscope and your efforts to help my students. This has been a totally incredible experience. I would like Bugscope to be a tradition in my Science teaching. Thank you everyone! P.S. Will these images be able to be used in my classroom after today?
• Bugscope Teamjoyce, great session today. yes, all the images and the chat transcript are available on your bugscope member page: http://bugscope.itg.uiuc.edu/members/2007-054
• Bugscope Teamjoyce, it was a pleasure having you today. please fill out another bugscope app. we will keep an eye out for it!
• Bugscope TeamWe hope to see you back!
• Bugscope Teamjoyce, i'll email you that link to your member page....
• 10:15 am
• TeacherTHANK YOU!!!! SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!! BYE!!!!!!!!
• Bugscope TeamThank You!
• Bugscope Teamover and out
• Bugscope Teamok, poo is gone. going to close the session, unless anyone needs to stay on?
• Bugscope Teamsee you all later gators!