Connected on 2009-09-29 09:00:00
from Yarmouth, ME, US
- 8:54 am
- Bugscope Teampresets are done! we are ready
- Bugscope Teamthese guys (toad bugs) eat smaller arthropods
- Bugscope Teamone genus has no tarsi on the forelimbs -- its claws are attached directly to the tibia
- Bugscope Teamhey hey
- Bugscope Teamyay Annie!
- 9:01 am
- Bugscope Teamhere we are looking at the inside of the exoskeleton, where it folded out when the pin was pushed in
- 9:12 am
- Bugscope Teamhello!
- Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
- Bugscope Teamhi there
- TeacherHi
- Bugscope TeamYay Hi!
- Bugscope Teamlet us know when you have questions or problems
- Bugscope Teamthere are several of us here to answer questions about the samples, or the 'scope, or anything else...
- Bugscope Teamokay, we are ready to roll!
- Bugscope Teamwelcome to bugscope yarmouth!
- Bugscope Teambeetle head!
- Bugscope Teamglad you are online. please feel free to ask any questions
- TeacherWhat are the two little claws in front of its mouth?
Bugscope Teamthose are its hinged jaws. They open out like a gate
- TeacherHow many facets are on the beetle's compound eye?
Bugscope TeamHundred! Insects vary in the number of facets that they have. Insects that fly during the day have many more facets than insects that live underground or that are active at night.
- 9:17 am
- TeacherWhat kind of beetle is it? Margo
Bugscope TeamI am sorry we do not know -- we may be able to zero in on the species by getting a longer view
- TeacherIs there texture to the eye or is it smooth? Noah
Bugscope Teamif you drive to the eye you can check its texture out by zooming in on it
- Bugscope Teamtry click on the preset #14 to get back to the beetle head
- Bugscope Teamif you click to drive, then you must click to stop
- Bugscope TeamYes, if we zoom out a bit and drive around I might be able to tell you what kind of beetle it is
- Bugscope Teamusing click to center is easier than click to drive
- Bugscope Teamsometimes it is easier to use Click to Center
- Bugscope Teamtry click to center yarmouth, it should provide better control
- Bugscope Teamthe mouth!
- Bugscope Teamah cool, now you can see the chompers better
- Bugscope Teamand now the compound eye
- Bugscope Teamyay now we see the compound eye -- good driving!
- Bugscope Teamgood job driving!
- TeacherWe're counting the sides-- hexagons!
- TeacherWe think it looks bumpy, not smooth.
- Bugscope Teamjust wait till you see the fly compound eye!
- TeacherWhat are the hairs on it? Annie
- TeacherWhy does it have hairs?
Bugscope Teamthose hairs are called setae (sea-tea), and they help insects to feel their environment. all insects have setae, tons of them!
- 9:22 am
- Bugscope Teamyes, the hexagon shape allows the eye to have a curved surface, it couldn't really be curved if the facets were square
- TeacherDoes it have any other eyes besides those two compound eyes? Charlie
Bugscope TeamMany insects (but not this beetle) also have three "simple" eyes on the top of their head. These simple eyes help them to sense the length of the day and the position of the sun in the sky.
- Bugscope Teaminsects don't have nerves in their skin, they don't have skin at all. instead they have an exoskeleton. the hairs (setae) stick through the exoskeleton and connect to nerves underneath. that is how they feel things.
- TeacherHow big and how long is it in real life? Jackson
Bugscope TeamI think it is a little more than a centimeter long
- Bugscope Teamthe setae (hairs) on the surface of the eye are likely touch sensors; fruit flies have them between nearly all of the ommatidia (the facets of the eye). the touch sensors can help the insect gauge the speed and direction of the wind
- TeacherHow does the hair come out of the eye if it is hard?Caroline
Bugscope Teaminbetween the eye facets there are little holes, the setae stick through there.
- TeacherWhat are the facets of the eye made out of?
Bugscope TeamAll of the parts of the insect's body are made of chitin+protein+water--all three of those chemical compounds linked together into very strong bonds that make the insect's cuticle
- TeacherAre there germs on this bug? Caitlin
Bugscope Teamif you take the magnification up from here we can check to see if there are any bacteria on the surface of the eye
- Bugscope Teambe sure to check out some of the other presets so that you can compare this beetle with other insects
- 9:28 am
- TeacherHow fast can this beetle go?
Bugscope TeamThis is probably not a super fast beetle. Not as fast as a cockroach...cockroaches are among the fastest running insects
- TeacherAre those bacteria?
- Bugscope Teambacteria are around 2um big (a little smaller than the scale bar shows in the lower left) and they look like rods
- Bugscope Teami don't think this is bacteria, which is more worm looking. this might be dirt and stuff like that?
- TeacherIf the thorax on insects is thinner, is it the weakest of the 3 parts of the body? Noah
Bugscope TeamI would say that the abdomen is the weakest of the three sections. It is the softest and the most full of fluid and guts and stuff.
- TeacherWhat is the life cycle of this insect and how long does it take? Trevor
Bugscope TeamThe life cycles of a single insect usually takes a full year, but can be faster or slower depending on the insect and the place where the insect lives. The fruit flies in my compost pile have a generation every two weeks or so, while a butterfly usually has only a single generation. The life cycle of a insect with complete metamorphosis is egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupae (cocoon), then adult.
- TeacherHow many insects are you an expert on? Joe
Bugscope TeamI am an expert on a single family of beetles. But the term "expert" is sort of relative. I know a lot about many other insects as well.
- Bugscope Teamhere is the rollypoly you sent us
- TeacherIs it decomposing on the screen here? Carson
- 9:33 am
- TeacherHow long can pill bugs live?
Bugscope TeamThere can be two or three broods per year and their lifespan is about two years.
- Bugscope Teamwe do not see bacteria on insects very often, and when we do, we do not always know if they were there before the insect died. Often we do see mold or fungus.
- Bugscope Teamoh and this pillbug is actually not an insect
- Bugscope Teampillbugs are crustaceans
- TeacherWe're Mainers and we think it looks a bit like a lobster? Are they related?
Bugscope TeamYES!!
- TeacherHow many legs do pill bugs have? Andy
Bugscope TeamYou should count them on the screen!
- Bugscope Teamtotally!
- TeacherHow long are their legs? Mairen
- Bugscope Teampillbugs are crustacians
- TeacherScientists, do you have a favorite insect to study? Margeaux
Bugscope TeamI like to study longhorned beetles the best.
- TeacherWhat are the two dark circles in the picture, near the legs? Eric
Bugscope Teamthat is where pieces of the leg fell off
- 9:38 am
- TeacherDo you know how much it weighs? Carson
Bugscope Teamthis was a very small pillbug- a baby. I almost didn't see it. So this particular one weighs almost next to nothing.
- TeacherAre they scales or legs at the back? Caroline
Bugscope TeamThose are sort of like legs. I think they are similar in structure to the swimmerets on a lobster's tail
- Bugscope Teamthe final two legs are called uropods
- Bugscope TeamThe giant isopod that lives in the ocean weighs 3.7 lb!
Bugscope Teamug!
- Bugscope TeamScot corrects me!
- TeacherDo they have any defense mechanism besides an exoskeleton? Noah
Bugscope TeamPillbugs can roll into a little ball until the predator leaves them alone.
- TeacherIt looks like a hawk talon with flower petals!
- 9:43 am
- TeacherWhat is a ladybug "palp"? Is it the underside? Caroline
Bugscope TeamIt is part of the ladybug's mouth. The are like a combination between a mouth and a tongue, they help the insect to taste and move its food.
- Bugscope Teammany insects have developed chemical defenses against ants, which are fearsome predators. a lot of insects exude toxins to discourage ants from bothering them
Bugscope TeamLadybugs, like this one, exude a very smelly orange colored liquid from their joints when they are harassed. Ladybugs also apparently taste bad (although I have never tried one)
- TeacherWhat are the circular shapes above the ladybug? Charlie
Bugscope Teamthose are bubbles in the carbon tape we mount the insects/arthropods on; it is doublesided tape
- TeacherWe have to go to recess. Thank you scientists from Mrs. Spencer's 3rd Grade!!!!
- Bugscope TeamThank you!
- TeacherWe loved all the information you shared with us!!!
- Bugscope TeamSee you next year!
- TeacherYes!!
- 9:53 am
- 10:34 am
- Bugscope Teamhi jimmy
- Bugscope TeamHi Jimmy!
- Bugscope Teamwhere are you from?
- 10:39 am
- Bugscope Teamhi Maddy!
- Bugscope Teamwelcome to bugscope!
- Bugscope TeamMaddy I just gave you control of the microscope.
- GuestHi Scott
- Bugscope Teamyou should see controls to the right of the image, and you should be able to use them
- GuestAre you ready for our practice session
- Bugscope Teamyes for sure
- Bugscope Teamyep, we are ready as we can be
- Bugscope Teamthe last session was over a little early
- Bugscope Teamyou can have up to 25 or so students logged in from their own computers for the session
- Bugscope Teamwhen you login for your session, you'll want to login as "Teacher", and any students should login as a "Student"
- Bugscope Teamonly one person can drive at a time, and we can confer control to whoever you wish
- Guestwhat are we looking at
- Bugscope Teamthis is a compound eye
- Bugscope Teamthose bumps are individual facets of the eye, called ommatidia
- Bugscope Teamyou may click on one of the presets to change where you are, or you can drive
- Bugscope Teamthis is a fruit fly, and as Alex said it is one of the compound eyes
- 10:44 am
- Bugscope Teamthere are a number of insects on the stub
- Bugscope Teamif your students login themselves, they will be asking questions while you are driving the scope. as long as you don't have more than 15-20 students login at the same time, we should be able to answer most questions
- Bugscope Teamclick to center is sometimes easier to use when you know which way you're going and you can see that place or know you are approaching it
- Bugscope Teamyou can always improve the focus if you are just driving around
- Bugscope Teamhowever, some teachers don't have their students login, instead they project their computer to a projector, and then the students ask the teacher questions, then the teacher types those questions to us
- Bugscope Teambut we think that direct interaction with the students usually provides for a more engaging experience for the kids
- 10:49 am
- Guestwhat part am I looking at?
- Bugscope Teamthese are a couple of the claws of the fruit fly
- Bugscope Teamthe tarsi are the terminal segments of the limbs, and here we see a pair of claws with the pulvillus in between
- Bugscope Teamthe pulvillus is a pad with sticky tenent setae on it
- Bugscope Teamnow the rolypoly
- Bugscope Teamhere's a pill bug
- Bugscope Team head is to the left
- Bugscope Teamthese are not insects, they are crustaceans
- Bugscope Teamthet are isopods, meaning of course that all of their legs are shaped the same
- Bugscope Teamthey
- Bugscope Teamare isopods, that is
- GuestCan we see the gills?
- Bugscope Teamthe gils are supposed to be located around where the leg connects with the main part of the body
- Bugscope Teamwell they are supposed to be here
- Bugscope Teamthey may be obscured by the legs
- 10:55 am
- Bugscope Teamyeah I am sorry I am not sure if we would recognize them if we saw them
- GuestIs this the eye?
- Bugscope Teamyes!
- GuestDoes the eye of the pill bug differ than that of a insect?
- Bugscope Teamsimple eyes as opposed to the compound eye you saw earlier
- Bugscope Teamit looks much like spider eyes, or ocelli -- the simple eyes
- Bugscope Teampillbugs don't rely on their eyes very much, so they are very simple compared to say a fly's eye
- Bugscope Teamit may be that what we saw is a compound eye but the individual facets are separated
- Bugscope Teamhere you can see the ant's compound eye
- Bugscope Teamthis is the ball and socket joint at the base of the antenna
- Bugscope Teamsomething has chewed on this ant, and its mouthparts are missing
- Bugscope Teamyou are doing a good job driving
- Bugscope Teamewe, gross scott... ;)
- Bugscope Teamsome ants have much more primitive compound eyes, with fewer facets, and some ants do not have eyes at all
- 11:00 am
- Bugscope Teamsee how the tarsi are missing -- it has no claw
- Bugscope Teamand right there we would also expect to see lots of palps
- Bugscope Teama lovely beetle
- Bugscope Teamtheir jaws, as those of almost all insects with jaws, open like a gate, not like our jaws
- GuestDid you have any luck getting the bees? What species of butterfly will we be looking at?
- Bugscope Teambees are here sitting next to me, for warmth
- Bugscope Teamnot sure what butterfly we will use -- a small one, and truncated at that
- Bugscope TeamCate will raid someone's collection for the butterfly.
- Bugscope Teami have a black swallowtail that looks pretty good to use
- 11:08 am
- Bugscope TeamBuckminster Fuller
- GuestThat sounds good to me, Scott!
- GuestI think we are done practicing thanks for your time see you soon
- Bugscope Teamthanks, see you online soon
- Bugscope Teamsee you soon
- Bugscope Teamif you have any questions in the meantime, just email us at: bugscope@itg.uiuc.edu
- Bugscope TeamThank you!
- Bugscope Teamok, done? shut down session?
- Bugscope Teamany last questions jimmy?
- Bugscope Teamok, good bye everyone, nice sessions