Connected on 2008-10-16 10:00:00
from , NC, US
- 8:55 am
- TeacherHello...We are so excited!!
- 9:01 am
- 9:07 am
- 9:13 am
- Bugscope TeamGood morning Tam!
- Bugscope TeamWe have been setting up presets and were not watching this page...
- Bugscope TeamSo Welcome!
- TeacherGreat...Thank you!
- Bugscope TeamAnd the presets are done, so you can try driving if you'd like.
- Bugscope Teamyou may also choose from among the presets.
- Bugscope TeamLet us know if you have any trouble or need any help.
- 9:18 am
- TeacherWOW
- Bugscope Teamand you can see scales here, plus many places where they rubbed off.
- Bugscope Teammoths are often hard to image because of the scales -- they charge up with electrons
- TeacherAre the spots places where scales are missing?
- Bugscope Teamyes -- exactly
- Bugscope Teamoften the moth or butterfly can shed its scales and still be ok. It is sometimes a defense mechanism. If it is stuck in a web, it can let some scales go to get free
- TeacherHi Cate, Are the bumps where new scales are forming?
Bugscope TeamI don't think they live long enough for the scales to grow back
- Bugscope Teamwe see scales on silverfish and skippers as well
- 9:23 am
- Teacherlol
- TeacherWhat is the part that looks like coral?
- Bugscope Teamwhen we see the screen very bright like this it may be because the sample is charging up with electrons and cannot shed that electrical energy to ground
- Bugscope Teamthose are other places where scales are missing -- on the lower left?
- TeacherShould we move to another sample.
- Bugscope Teamyou can also take the mag down if you would like to look around the moth
- TeacherHow do you prevent the charging up?
- Bugscope Teamsometimes we can't, very well
- Bugscope Teaminsects like moths and butterflies will often charge badly. Other insects we have today aren't so bad
- Bugscope Teamthe samples are coated with gold-palladium using a sputter coater, which can place a very thin layer of the conductive metal on the surface
- 9:28 am
- Bugscope Teamthe gold-palladium layer is a few to several nanometers thick
- TeacherJohn here. That looks like a golf ball
- Bugscope Teamyes that is one of the compound eyes
- Bugscope Teamfeel free to choose from among the presets when you have exhausted what may be interesting on this sample
- Bugscope Teamhere is the owlfly larva claw
- Bugscope Teamthere are two little hairs near the middle of the screen that i think are trigger hairs-- hairs that when it touches something with them, the claws will automatically grasp the object
- Bugscope Teamowlflies are related to dragonflies
- Bugscope Teamthey are predatory as larvae and adults
- Bugscope Teamthis is the first time we have had an adult in the 'scope
- 9:33 am
- TeacherCricket here. Very interesting.
- Bugscope Teamon some insects there is a pad of tenent setae -- called a pulvillus -- in this location
- Bugscope TeamHi Cricket!
- Bugscope TeamHi Malik!
- TeacherHello...Do the tenent setae serve the same purpose as the trigger hairs?
- GuestHi Scot!
- TeacherMalik????
- TeacherOh Hello.
- Bugscope Teamsometimes we get guests who log on
- Bugscope TeamMalik is a guest who is checking us out from somewhere else in the world
- GuestI am in a session with a group of teachers talking about Technology Integreation into the curriculum - I think that they will like this resource - Thanks for having it!
- GuestI am in Minneapolis,MN at Sojouner Truth School
- Bugscope Teamthe tenent setae function like little suction cups or hook and loop structures (Velcro) and help insects crawl on vertical surfaces
- TeacherAre the thorn like hairs the ones used for gripping?
Bugscope Teamwe see those types of hairs on spiders sometimes. they might sense vibration
- TeacherCool
- Bugscope TeamSome of the thornlike hairs (setae, or bristles) may be used to help grip. Some of them may also have a mechanosensory function, as Cate says.
- TeacherAre the wrinkles veins?
- Bugscope Teamthe wrinkles are places where the exoskeleton fits together
- 9:38 am
- Bugscope Teaminsects have their 'bones' on the outside, sort of like if you were to wear armor
- Bugscope Teamand that is why we see so many tiny setae
- Bugscope Teamsome of the setae also have a chemosensory function
- TeacherJoint?
- Bugscope Teamthat is, the insect or arthropod can sense smells with some of the 'hairs'
- Bugscope Teamyes this is a joint
- Bugscope Teamlooks like elephant skin, in a way
- GuestThis is incredible!
- Bugscope Teambut we would not think of it as skin
- TeacherToo awesome!!
- Bugscope TeamManean this is fun for us, as well.
- TeacherIt does offer protect like skin...yes?
- Guestis the "skin" made out of the same material as the rest of the exoskeleton?
- Bugscope Teamso it is a thinner more flexible chitin, or cuticle
- Bugscope Team(at the joint it is thinner)
- 9:44 am
- Bugscope Teamsometimes we have to remember that these insects are dry, and we are seeing surfaces that are a little shrunken compared to their live state
- Bugscope Teamwhen we see these horizontal lines on the image, that is more evidence of charging, where the electrons cannot go quickly to ground
- Bugscope Teamthere are a lot of presets, so feel free to try them as soon as you have seen enough of one area
- Bugscope Teamthis is the base of one of those plumose setae
- Bugscope Teamwe don't always know the functions of what we see in all of the insects we look at
- TeacherYou are doing a great job!!!
- Bugscope Teamreally you all are doing a great job navigating the microscope from far away
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the micron bar in this view
- TeacherTks. It looks like there is a muscle or something at the base that can controll the movement.
- Bugscope Team3 microns is one and a half bacteria (bacillus -- the rod-shaped ones) long
- 9:49 am
- TeacherWOW
- Bugscope Teamthere are likely muscle attachments on the inside of the exoskeleton that extend to the bases of the moveable setae
- TeacherThis microscope is incredible.
- Bugscope Teamso an anthrax bacterium, for example, would be about 2 microns -- 2 micrometers -- long
- Bugscope Teamwe are very happy to have it
- TeacherJohn wants to move on. Is there anything on this sample that we need to see.
- TeacherAnything you all find interesting.
- Bugscope Teamyou can take the mag down low and cruise around for a last look before moving on
- Bugscope Teamwhat is kind of cool about Bugscope is that we may not find all of the neat things to see in a particular sample
- Bugscope Teamso you may come upon features we are unaware of
- Bugscope Teamhere you can see one jaw, at the top
- Bugscope Teamthis owlfly larva we dropped, accidentally, so that its head stuck in some silver paint
- TeacherIs that the part that looks like it has thorns on it?
- Bugscope Teambut there is another larva that looks great
- 9:54 am
- Bugscope Teamyes the part with thorns
- Bugscope Teamon a lower magnification, it would look like the insect has antlers
- Bugscope Teamas Cate said earlier they are related to antlions
- Teacherlol antlers
- Bugscope Teamnow you can see where the tiny claw was
- Bugscope Teamyes some fierce antlers
- Teacheramazing!
- Bugscope Teamas Cate also mentioned with the claw -- the jaws are likely set up with trigger hairs that active them when something comes into their range
- Bugscope Teamthis, now, is from an adult of the same insect
- Guestso the bite reaction is purely chemical?
- Bugscope TeamManaen it depends on the species -- probably most bite at will rather than automatically
- Bugscope Teamwe get to work with trapjaw ant people sometimes, and it is amazing how fast the jaws react
- 10:00 am
- TeacherInteresting. You must love your job!!
- Guesti am just amazed at how sophisticated insect colonies can be or even individual bugs for that matter considering the brain size
Bugscope Teamin some ways they are programmed to function the way they do
- Bugscope Teamit is a lot of fun getting to work with kids or even pre-service teachers.
- TeacherJohn - Purely instinct not thought.
- Bugscope Teamyes we like to ascribe anthropomorphic qualities to insects but it is unlikely, most of the time, that they are motivated the ways we might think
- Bugscope Teamthis is cool -- the head of the owlfly with its large eyes
- TeacherIs the hole where it is missing a antenae?
- Bugscope Teamyes exactly
- Bugscope Teamhi everyone!
- Bugscope Teamone of the antennae is missing -- sometimes we are so careless ; )
- Bugscope TeamHi Annie!
- Bugscope TeamAnnie is our entomologist.
- 10:05 am
- Bugscope Teamshe tries her best to keep us out of trouble
- TeacherIt gives it character.
- Bugscope Teamhaha yes, I try
- TeacherHi Annie.
- Bugscope TeamHi Tam!
- Bugscope Teamsometimes legs fall off, it happens
- Bugscope Teamspiders can make their legs fall off by choice
- TeacherA great way to escape.
- Bugscope Teamthey have a function called autotomy in which if they sense poison entering a leg they can jettison that leg
- Bugscope Teamand it would allow them to escape, as you suggested
- Bugscope TeamMany arthropods can easily lose legs to escape predators--it is a fact that anyone who has tried to collect insects for display collections learns very quickly!
- Bugscope Teamlike geckos losing their tails
- Bugscope Teamthis is the head of the wheelbug
- TeacherJohn - Yes many of mine are missing parts.
- 10:10 am
- Bugscope Teamit has one very formidable looking proboscis
- TeacherThey have sucking and piercing mouth parts..right?
Bugscope Teamyes, they are predators and they use their mouths to suck the guts and juice from their prey
- Bugscope Teamyes
- Bugscope Teamserious
- Bugscope Teamand we lost one of its antennae as well
- TeacherWe are looking at this upside down?
- Bugscope Teamum sort of
- Bugscope Teamit is reclining to one side, at least
- Teacheryum..ambush bug
- Bugscope Teamyou can see, below the compound eye, that it has ocelli
- Bugscope Teambut you need not go there
- Bugscope Teamthose scales came from prey, perhaps
- Bugscope Teamlots of setae on the exoskeleton
- Bugscope Teamand it is sort of dusty as well
- Bugscope Teammoth and mosquito scales are easily dislodged
- Bugscope Teamyou should be able to modify the focus to get the background rather than the foreground
- 10:15 am
- Bugscope Teamif you wish
- Bugscope Teamcool!
- Bugscope Teama scanning electron microscope has very good depth of focus
- Bugscope Teambecause the probe size -- the diameter of the electron beam -- is very small
- TeacherExcellent...truly exploring a different world.
- Bugscope Teamnow you could take the mag lower and see more of that surface, and it would stay roughly in focus
- Bugscope Teamthe microscope is parfocal -- meaning that if we focus at a high mag and then go to a low mag it will stay in focus
- Bugscope Teamassuming the area we are viewing is uniform in depth, or height
- Bugscope Teamit's like a forest of downed trees
- TeacherA magnificent piece of gear!!!
- Bugscope Teammost of the people who use it, normally, are not imaging insects
- Bugscope Teamjust me!
- Teachersomeone left their scales behind.
- Bugscope Teamsome people are looking at bone cells, or silicon structures they have made, or plant material..
- Bugscope Teamyes -- they didn't come from the ambush bug
- 10:20 am
- Teacherit is perfect for looking at insects
- Bugscope Teamkids like looking at the insects upclose too.
- Bugscope Teamwhich is why we mostly just do insects
- Bugscope Teambut we sometimes have other things on the stubs like today we have some salt
- Bugscope Teaminsects are among the few things that are always interesting in the SEM
- TeacherMy kids love insects....
- Bugscope Teamlike Annie!
- TeacherWhat about a grain of wheat...
- Bugscope Teamwe could try it next time
- TeacherIs the ball that we wee just a foreign particle
- Bugscope Teamwe have never looked at wheat that I can remember
- Bugscope TeamAfter many hundred of insect SEMs, they can get a little boring....of course I am looking at the same parts over and over
- Bugscope Teamthe ball may be pollen
- Bugscope Teamwe often see pollen and/or mold spores
- Bugscope Teamsometimes they are very similar
- TeacherAnnie what is your favorite insect??
- TeacherIt looks like a crab
- Bugscope TeamLonghorned beetles. That is what I study
- Bugscope Teamit could be taking her a while to decide, but maybe a cerambycid?
- Bugscope Teamha yeah
- 10:25 am
- Bugscope TeamOf course!!!
- Bugscope Teamthis is the underside of the head of a Japanese beetle
- Bugscope Teamhere you can see the mandibular and maxillary palps
- TeacherThe plate structure moves down.
- Bugscope Teamhey cool we can learn from you -- mouthparts are complex
- Bugscope TeamLonghorned beetles are in the family cerambycidae
- TeacherAh
- Bugscope TeamSome well known cerambycids are locust borers, the Asian longhorned beetle, the valley elderberry borer (an endangered species in California), and the old house borer
- 10:31 am
- TeacherYikes what is all the info at the top.
- Bugscope Teamtry refreshing your browser winder
- Bugscope Teamwindow
- TeacherExcellent
- TeacherYou are all awesome!!!!!
- Bugscope Team:)
- TeacherSo this is inside the mouth??
Bugscope Teamthis is inside the palp of the cricket. a palp is something that manipulates food or tastes/smells the food
- Bugscope Teamthis is unusual
- Bugscope Teamthey are not often hollow like this
- 10:36 am
- Bugscope Teamin other insects
- TeacherWhy is the Cricket different?
- Bugscope Teamthere may be some other function we are not aware of
- Bugscope TeamCrickets are in the order Orthoptera, and beetles are in the order Coleoptera
- Bugscope Teamwe looked at these setae earlier, thinking that they would perhaps have pores at the tips, but we did not see any
- Bugscope Teamwith the idea that the setae were chemoreceptors
- Bugscope Teamthey could still be...
- Bugscope Teamthis is cool
- Bugscope Teamis this a mosquito mouth?
Bugscope Teamyes one of yours actually
- Bugscope Teamthese are two of the six stylets that form the fascicle
- Bugscope Teamyes
- Teacherouch
- Bugscope TeamI collected this mosquito from my leg
- Bugscope Teamor my arm
- Bugscope Teamthis is the sheath that normally holds the fascicle
- Bugscope Teamthat was handy, Annie
- Bugscope Teamdidn't have to go far to get it
- 10:41 am
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that mosquitoes have scales as well
- Bugscope Teamthese are on the outside of the sheath, which I think is called the labium
- Bugscope Teamno I think now we were on a leg, sorry
- Bugscope Teamthere is a good image of the labium/fascicle
- Teachersorry now i'm lost
- Bugscope Teamwhen the mosquito bites the fascicle remains fairly straight while the sheath bows away from it
- Teacherwhat an ugly booger
- Bugscope Teamobviously we get lost as well
- Bugscope Teamthe eyes have dried and shriveled a bit
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the bases of the antennae
- Bugscope TeamHaha, I got us a lifetime supply
- Bugscope Teamthe antennal fossae or antennal sockets
- Bugscope Teamcool, Annie
- Bugscope Teamthese are some nice skeeters
- 10:46 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is the other owlfly larva
- Bugscope Teaminsect larvae don't have to follow the six legs rule if they don't want to.
- TeacherJacquie is 3 she says yucko!!
- Bugscope Teamaww
- Bugscope TeamOwflies are predators, they eat other insects
- Bugscope Teamthe edge of the world
- Teacheryikes...a scary place.
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the jaws a little better here
- TeacherSo this is a friendly bug?
Bugscope TeamNot so friendly, especially to any insect that is smaller than them. They sit still on tree branches with their jaws open until an unsuspecting insect wanders close to them. Then SNAP they close their jaws and eat the other insect.
- Bugscope Teamand the tiny eyes on little stalks
- 10:51 am
- Bugscope Teamum I think it is a mean little dude
- Bugscope Teamthere is fungus on the surface
- Teacherfungus amongus
- Bugscope Teamthese were probably collected into a moist container
- Bugscope Teamyeah the fungus was going to town on it
- Bugscope TeamIt probably could bite you...and it would sting and itch a little. But not any worse than a paper cut or a pin prick.
- Bugscope Teamthis is a great view of one of the eyes
- Bugscope TeamThe bite would sting...but it doesn't sting, per se. I should clarify
- Bugscope TeamI imagine as kids they don't see so well
- Bugscope Teamwhen they grow up they have those large compound eyes
- Bugscope TeamAnnie do we know that they have trigger hairs that actuate the jaws?
Bugscope TeamProbably...I am not sure if anyone has studied them specifically
- Teacherwhat is the hair under the eyes
- 10:56 am
- Bugscope TeamOwlflies are not very well studied, actually.
- Bugscope Teamwe get to see a lot of insects that may not have been thoroughly characterized
- Bugscope Teamthis is the tip of the antenna of the owlfly
- Bugscope Teamthe grown-up owlfly
- Bugscope Teamyou have an owlfly adult?
- Bugscope TeamAwesome
- Bugscope Teamdid I collect it?
- Bugscope Teamcame from you
- Bugscope Teamyup
- Bugscope TeamCool
- Bugscope Teamha
- Bugscope Teamhaha
- TeacherIt looks like it has dandruff
- Bugscope Teamsome of the dandruff may be particles called brochosomes
- TeacherAmazing
- Bugscope Teamor brochosomes- which are tiny whiffle-like balls that comes only from leafhoppers
- TeacherCool
- 11:02 am
- Teacheronly from leafhoppers
- Teacher???
- Bugscope Teameither is has been eating leafhoppers or since it was in a vial with a lot of other insects, maybe there was a leafhopper in the vial
- Bugscope Teamyes leafhoppers have an 'anointing' behavior in which they spread the waxy little brochosomes onto the surface of their bodies
- Bugscope TeamI think I also collected some leafhoppers when I collected this owlfly
- Bugscope Teamthe brochosomes may help keep eggs from drying out
- TeacherLeafhoppers sound awesome
- Bugscope Teamsometimes we see them in large patches on leafhoppers
- Bugscope Teambefore we have to go -- check out preset 11
- Teacherand they a pretty too.
- Bugscope TeamLeafhoppers can be very beautiful. However, they are serious pests because they can transmit diseases to plants
- TeacherYikes I am glad I haven't seen them here.
- 11:07 am
- Bugscope TeamTam try going to preset 11, and you may be able to see the brochosomes in more detail
- Bugscope TeamThey can also stunt the growth of plants and they excrete a sticky substance called honeydew that attracts ants and can cause the growth of mold
- TeacherWhen I click on preset 11 nothing happens.
- Bugscope Teamthere are good leafhoppers and bad leafhoppers, just like witches in the land of Oz
- TeacherSo they are pests
Bugscope TeamYup they are pests
- Teacheris this 11?
Bugscope Teamhere we are at 11, and we can see the brochosomes mroe clearly
- Bugscope Teamnow you can almost make out the little shapes
- Bugscope Team11 moved a bit since we set it up -- that happens sometimes
- Teachercool
- Bugscope Teamso scott said these little brochosomes are around 400nm big
- Bugscope TeamTam we will have to give up the microscope soon, but we would like to try to get a slightly better image of the brochs before we go.
- Bugscope Teamthats around the wavelength of light
- Teacherteenie
- 11:12 am
- TeacherBefore you go Annie...are there any insects you want us to look for in nc and send to you?
Bugscope TeamWow. Thanks Tam, I dunno
- TeacherWOW
- Bugscope Teamwow yeah those look nice
- Bugscope TeamI am trying to finish up my research, but if you find anything super cool, you can always send the to Bugscope!
- Bugscope Teamthe one almost dead center is about 400 nm in diameter
- TeacherJohn has over 100 in his collection.
- Bugscope TeamThat's a nice collection!
- TeacherWOW scot that is incredible
- Bugscope TeamJohn should hang onto them for future study! There are plenty of insects to go around!
- Bugscope Teamto get this image we took the 'scope to a shorter working distance
- Bugscope Teamit is live, still, of course
- Bugscope Teambut Tam it is time for us to peel out
- Bugscope Teamyou can visit your member session page at any time to view the chat or the saved images at http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/members/2008-085/
- Bugscope Teamyou can access the images and a chat transcript from your session on line
- 11:17 am
- TeacherThank you so much!!!! God Bless!! Tam, John, Cricket & Jacquie
- Bugscope TeamCan you connect with us again next year?
- Bugscope TeamThank You All!
- Bugscope TeamThank you all too.
- TeacherYou bet...chat with you next year.
- Bugscope TeamGoodbye everyone!
- TeacherCate Thank you for all your hard work.
- Bugscope Teamno problem have a good rest of the day
