Broomhill Primary
Session 2009-055

Application

School

Class

Project

Miscellaneous

Transcript

Connected on 2009-06-08 07:30:00 from Aberdeen, Aberdeen City, GB

• 6:43 am
• Bugscope Teamwaiting for the vacuum, won't be long and we'll be making presets

• 6:50 am

• 6:55 am

• 7:01 am

• Bugscope TeamNow we're making presets. It's 7:02 a.m. here.

• 7:08 am

• 7:13 am

• TeacherHello. Sorry if I kept you waiting as I had stair duty.
• Bugscope TeamGood Morning, We are fine! Welcome to Bugscope!
• TeacherI sent some insects but I'm not sure if you have received them yet.
• Bugscope Teamthis weevil is the only one in this sample from what you sent us

• Bugscope Teamthe other insects are ones we put in for you :)
• 7:18 am
• TeacherAha so it's a weevil. Anything else we should know about it?
• TeacherThank you so much!
• Bugscope Teamwell, there's a lot of detail on the weevil we can talk about when we start the session

• Bugscope Teama weevil is from the beetle family
• Bugscope Teampresets are done
• Bugscope Teami've just unlocked the session
• Bugscope Teamyou can start controlling the scope now, you should see the controls on the right side of your browser window
• Bugscope Teamat any time, you can click on one of the preset images, and the scope will move to that location
• Bugscope Teamand if you have any questions or problems, please let us know
• 7:24 am
• TeacherHmm slight technical difficulty. The window is wider than my screen and I can't see any buttons to the right. Nor is there a scroll bar to move the window to the right
• Bugscope Teambugscope requires a minimum resolution of 1024x768. is your screen resolution at 800x600?
• Bugscope Teamor, you might want expand your browser to the maximum, by hitting F11
• Teachersorry how would I check. I did run the test before and it seemed ok
• Bugscope TeamWe can get it to work.
• Bugscope Teamare you running windows?
• Teacheryes
• Bugscope Teamok, right click anywhere on the desktop
• Bugscope Teamthen click on properties

• Bugscope Teamthis is windows xp?

• Teacheryes

• Bugscope Teamok, right click on the desktop, then select properties

• Bugscope Teamthat brings up the display properties window, then click on the settings tab
• Bugscope Teamin the settings tab, you should see a slide bar, to change the resolution, go ahead and make it at least 1024x768? what what is it set to now?

• Bugscope Teamif your screen resolution is already at 1024x768 or more, then all you should have to do is maximize your browser window (F11 in Internet Explorer)

• 7:29 am

• Bugscope Teamok, you don't have admin access, we'll try to work around it

• Bugscope Teamis your browser window at the maximum size of the screen?

• Teachergreat. Sorry we didn't pick up on that before

• Bugscope Teami just looked at your test results, and see that from one of the computers, it is running 800x600, yet the test passed. that is a mistake on our part

• Bugscope Teamsorry, we will fix that. although the first test did fail because of 800x600. and i see that you also ran the test from other computers that had a higher (better) resolution

• Bugscope Teamcan you see the controls and the presets now?
• Bugscope Teamthe controls should have: magnify, navigation, focus and adjust
• Teacherno

• Bugscope Teamyou don't see the controls at all?
• Teacherno, sorry
• Bugscope Teami'd like to try and call you, easier to talk than to chat
• Bugscope Teamis there a number i can call you at?
• Bugscope Teamis there a person there who is authorized to make temporary changes to your computer settings?
• 7:34 am
• Teacherjust checking
• Bugscope Teamif you can find an IT (computer) person, they may be able to change the screen resolution to 1024x768
• Bugscope Teamif we cannot get help from a systems persons, we can drive the microscope for you, and if you can see the chat you can ask questions, help us direct the imaging for you
• Bugscope Teamhuh sorry can't type a sentence correctly
• Teacherso what are we looking at?
• Bugscope Teamthis is the tip of the proboscis of a leafhopper
• Teacherwhat is a probuscis>
• Bugscope Teamleafhoppers have piercing mouthparts so they can suck the juices out of plants/leaves
• Bugscope Teama proboscis is a piercing mouthpart that many organisms have. the largest proboscis in the world is the elephant trunk
• Bugscope Teama proboscis is an extension of the mouth, or sometimes the nose, as in an elephant's trunk, also called a proboscis
• 7:39 am
• Bugscope TeamAlex beat me to it, of course

• Bugscope Teamthe large hole to the left is where this leafhopper had been affixed to a pin in someone's collection

• Bugscope Teamhere is the head, with the eyes on either side, and tiny antennae
• Bugscope Teaminsects are very very hairy when you look at them in a microscope. those hairs are called setae (see-tee), and they help the insect sense their environment. some setae can feel, some can sense smells, temperature, wind, etc.
• Bugscope Teamin the middle of the head you can barely make out ridges that are part of the internal pumping apparatus that helps the leafhopper feed -- suck sap up through its proboscis

• Bugscope Teamah, cool, this is the weevil that you sent to us!
• Bugscope Teamthey are so cool-looking, sometimes called snout beetles
• Bugscope Teamsee its eyes?
• Bugscope Teamit has compound eyes on either side of the base of its snout

• Bugscope Teamyep, that's the compound eye right there

• Bugscope Teameach one of those bumps is a ommatidia, and has an individual lens in it
• 7:45 am
• Bugscope Teamyou can see some debris on the eye. it's relatively simple compared to the eyes of a wasp, moth, fly...
• Bugscope Teamthe lens is stationary, unlike human eyes that can move around in the socket. but compound eyes make up for the stationary lens by having hundreds of ommatidia pointed in 180 degrees, usually

• Bugscope Teamgo ahead and ask any questions if you have any
• Bugscope Teamnow I'm taking us to another part of the stub, where we see a stilt-legged fly
• Bugscope Teamat least its head...
• Bugscope Teamthis is a fly's head
• Teacherhold on a sec. We missed part of that looking for a laptop that isn't networked. Could you tell us again what we are looking at

• Bugscope Teamthis is a fly head, a stilt legged fly
• Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a stilt legged fly
• Bugscope Teamyou can see the huge compound eyes on either side of the head
• Bugscope Teamand now we are zooming in on the sponging mouthparts
• Bugscope Teamwe will wait here until you let us know it is okay to move on

• Bugscope Teamhi mrs. C, welcome to bugscope!
• Bugscope TeamGood afternoon, Mrs C!
• Teacherwe have a laptop with driving capabilities
• Bugscope TeamYou caught us looking at a fly tongue!
• Bugscope Teamyeah!
• Bugscope Teamawesome
• Bugscope Teamthat was resourceful -- good deal!
• Bugscope Teami just gave control over to mrs. c, so she should be able to see the controls on the right side of the browser
• Teacherwe have cheers
• Bugscope Team:)
• Bugscope TeamCheers from here!
• Teacherits a happy convention
• Bugscope Teamplease feel free to drive, and let us know when you have any questions
• Bugscope Teamyay!
• Student55o we are up and running
• TeacherOne kid says the bits of the tongue look like a race car shell advert
  Bugscope Teamtotally. insects have really cool looking parts to them when you look at them under a microscope
• Bugscope Teamyou can change the mag, click to drive (kind of scary -- you need to click to stop as well), click to center, focus, etc...
• 7:50 am
• Bugscope Teammaybe like some of the cooling louvers?

• Bugscope Teamyou may also select from among the presets
• Teacherwhat are we looking at now+

• Bugscope Teamin fact, some parts of the leafhopper (preset #9) are so small that they were not discovered until someone put the leafhopper into an electron microscope. those small things are called brochosomes
• Bugscope Teamthis is part of the face of the fly, up close
• Bugscope Teamthese are microsetae
• Bugscope Teamthose click again to stop

• Bugscope Teamif you get to an unfamiliar place, you can focus, change to a lower mag, choose from among the presets...

• Bugscope Teammrs. C, if you get lost driving the scope, you can always click on a preset to find your way back to a coool location
• Bugscope Teamcool!

• Bugscope Teamthis is the head of the stilt legged fly
• Bugscope Teamcool, this is a fly head, with HUGE compound eyes on either side
• TeacherWhy do the eyes have little dots all around it?
  Bugscope Teamthose dots are called ommatidia, they are individual facets of the compound eye, and each one has a lens in it
• Bugscope Teamon top of its head we see the antennae, which are fairly compact
• 7:55 am

• Bugscope Teamphew almost off the edge of the world
• Bugscope Teamclick again to stop moving

• TeacherWHY DO THEY HAVE COMPOUND EYES IN THE FIRST PLACE?

• Bugscope Teamsometimes it is easier to use "click to center" than "click to drive"
• TeacherIs it true that some flies see in slow motion?
• Bugscope Teamthere are advantages to having compound eyes: 1) you have better peripheral vision

• Bugscope Team2) yeah you have a much better ability to register changes in what you are seeing very quickly

• Bugscope TeamI just clicked on a preset...
• Bugscope Teamflying insects usually have great vision, helps them to fly well

• Bugscope Teambut it came back to the stilt legged fly
• TeacherAre those its ears at the top

• Bugscope Teamthose were its antennae
• Bugscope Teamnow do you see the wasp? I wanted to ensure that we weren't stuck in a loop..
• Teacherdoes a fly have ears

• Bugscope Teamthey don't have ears, but they have setae that can sense vibration

• 8:00 am

• Bugscope Teamsome insects do have ears, but they might be found on the thorax, as with a praying mantis, or on the legs!

• Teacherwhy do flies rub their legs together
  Bugscope TeamI think it's because they are obsessively clean. Beyond that I am not sure.

• Bugscope Teamthe jaws!
• Teacherwhat are the spot bits on the wasps mouth
• Bugscope Teamwell we see more setae, of course, and dirt, sometimes pollen or mold if we look up close

• Bugscope Teaminsect mouths are often confusing to us -- they have accessory mouthparts called palps, for example, that help them taste/manipulate their food
• Studentwhat are the wings made of?
• Bugscope Teaminsect mouths also open sideways, compared to ours
• StudentWhy are there craters on the body? What are we looking at here?
• Bugscope Teamthe wings are made of chitin, like the rest of the exoskeleton
• 8:06 am
• Bugscope Teamthe craters affect the coloration and make the wasp more easily identified by other wasps. you could also see that if you had tiny indentations in a smooth surface like that it would strengthen that surface overal
• Bugscope Teamoverall

• Bugscope Teamants often have very sculpted cuticle

• Bugscope Teamcuticle = chitin, and it is a material comparable to our fingernails. like the shell of a shrimp!
• Studenthow do we change to a different preset?
  Bugscope Teamdo you see the presets below the controls, just click on the image of one of them
• Bugscope Teamclick on it!
• Bugscope Teamlet us know if you have any trouble

• Bugscope Teamyou should be able to scroll through them
• StudentI try that and get a warning
• Bugscope Teamwe have played a trick on ourselves, and sometimes one of the presets does not work the first time we set it
• Bugscope Teamoh!

• Bugscope Teamhey this is the weevil! that worked nicely!

• Bugscope Teamhe/she is a little worse for wear

• Teacherhow is the mouth shaped like this
• Bugscope Teamone of the antennae is missing, and the one on the right that looks like a pipe, is missing pieces

• Bugscope Teamthere is the mouth!
• Teacherwhat do they eat
  Bugscope Teamthey eat lots of grains, are often found in stored grains or nuts or seeds...
• 8:11 am
• Bugscope Teamits adapted to probe
• Bugscope Teamthey're plant pests
• StudentAre the hairs around the mouth hairs or spikes?
• StudentAre they like little hoovers?
• Bugscope Teamthose hairs are probably mechanosensory -- they help the weevil feel where it is sticking its snout
• Bugscope Teamha yeah like little hoovers, but I think they need to prepare their food a bit first
• Bugscope Teamthey can cut into it with the jaws we see here

• TeacherwhAT IS THE BUMP THAT LOOKS LIKE A CORNFLAKE
• Bugscope Teamit is probably some dirt, or perhaps part of a seed
• Teacher ODYWHAT ARE ALL THE LITTLE BUMPS AROUND THE B
• TeacherBODY - MISSING WORD
• Bugscope Teamin the background, we see the craters in the carbon tape we used to stick the insects down to the stub
• 8:16 am

• Bugscope Teamcool, this is a wasp stinger
• Teacherwhy is it this shape and how does it work
• Bugscope Teamstingers are modified ovipositors, and sometimes they are used as either a stinger or an ovipositor
• Teacherwhat is an ovipositor
  Bugscope Teaman ovipositor is an organ used for the laying of eggs
• Bugscope Teamwhen the wasp was alive the two halves were closely pressed together
• StudentWhy are there ttwo parts to the stinger?
• StudentWhen it stings do those two parts go togethe?
• Bugscope Teamthey may have slid, side by side, to cut into whatever the wasp was stinging or laying eggs in
• Bugscope Teamyes those two parts would have looked like one
• Teacherdo wasps give off venom when they sting
• Bugscope Teamyes they do, and they can sting repeatedly
• Bugscope Teamthey may paralyze their prey and then lay eggs inside them
• Bugscope Teamprobably not this wasp though; I don
• Bugscope Team't think this is a parasitic wasp
• Bugscope Teamif you decrease the magnification here you can see where we are
• 8:21 am
• Teacherhow do wasps communicate
  Bugscope Teamwell, the wasp antennae are very complex, and they use it to communicate. preset #3 is a close-up of a wasp antenna

• Bugscope Teamall of the places you drive to and all of the changes you make are stored in your school's database

• Bugscope Teamprobably most of the communication is via chemical signals, as with ants

• Bugscope Teamthey are closely related to ants
• Bugscope Teamand here we see how some of that signal is collected

• Studentwow that's interesting. How do they use chemicals to communicate?
  Bugscope Teamwell, like ants for instance, use chemicals to communicate location of trails. that's how they all move along the same path in a one-by-one file
• Bugscope Teamthese are sensilla on the shaft of the antenna, which is really quite complex
• Teacherwhat is the hive made of
• Bugscope Teamif you alter those chemical trails, then the ants will start walking willy-nilly all over the place
• 8:27 am
• Bugscope Teamit depends on the kind of wasp; a paper wasp makes its hive out of cellulose that it has chewed up
• Bugscope Teamsome wasps make their hives of mud -- dried mud
• Studentwhat are these dimples?
• StudentIs our session just about over?
• Bugscope Teamthe long ones are called placoid sensilla, and the shorter ones have setae in them that are also likely chemosensory
• Bugscope Teamwe are scheduled to run 'til 8:30 a.m. Two minutes away. But if you would like to run longer please let us know

• Bugscope Teamthis is the antenna, and you can see how small those features were
• Studentthat's amazing. Everything looks so alien up close.
• Bugscope Teamwasps have four wings, but when they fly they attach the fore and hindwings together so that they effectively have only two wings
• Bugscope Teameverything is in black&white because the images we see are coming to us as signal, from electrons

• 8:32 am
• Bugscope Teamthis is a kind of punk-looking dragonfly
• Studentmay we look at one more preset? We'd like to see the dragonfly head
  Bugscope Teamcool, go for it!
• Bugscope Teamyou bet! and we are there!
• StudentWhy are his hairs so different from other insects?
• Bugscope Teamdragonflies have four wings as well but don
• Bugscope Team't hook them together to fly
• Studentwhy not?
• Bugscope Teamhe has longer hairs, for some reason
• StudentOh, we need to go now, as the spare laptop has other work to do. Thanks for everything!
• Bugscope Teamdragonflies are ancient species and have not changed much; flies are more modern, as are wasps
• Bugscope TeamThank You for connecting with us today, and please consider working with us in the future.
• Bugscope Teamok, remember your member page: http://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2009-055, it has all the chat and images from today's session
• Bugscope Teamyou did a great job!
• Bugscope Teamand cheers!
• TeacherYou guys offer an aawesome service AND WE REALLy appreciated the help and understanding over the technical difficulties
  Bugscope Teamwe are glad the session turned out ok. we don't often see 800x600 resoltuion, so it's usually not an issue. but we'll make sure the test fails at that res agin in the future
• TeacherSo, a quick question, the bugs I sent, are weevils right? Do they eat wood?
• Bugscope TeamI don't think they eat wood, but there are many species of them...
• 8:37 am
• TeacherThanks so much. We'll be in touch again. Have a good rest of the morning and thanks again
• Bugscope Teamgood bye! thank you!
• Bugscope Teamit looks like they *could* eat wood, at least to get to softer more tastier things...
• Bugscope TeamThank You!
• Bugscope Teamok, good bye mrs. b, don't forget all the chat and images are saved to your member page: http://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2009-055