Moyock Elementary School
Session 2009-131

Application

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Class

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Transcript

Connected on 2010-01-05 08:00:00 from Currituck, NC, US

• 7:21 am
• Bugscope Teamstarting presets
• Teacherhello Bugscope scientists! This is Joyce in Moyock, North Carolina!
• Bugscope Teamhi joyce, welcome to bugscope!
• Bugscope Teamwelcome welcome, we are setting up presets for your session
• Bugscope Teamwe'll be done in 10-15 minutes
• Bugscope Teamif you have any questions in the meantime, please just ask

• TeacherThank you and we are excuted to work the SEM!
• Teacheroops! excited!
• Bugscope Teamgreat to have you back!

• 7:27 am

• 7:35 am

• 7:40 am

• 7:46 am

• 7:53 am

• Bugscope Teamokay, done with presets, i've just unlocked the session
• TeacherHi SJ, Scot, and Alex! We are ready!
• Bugscope Teamok, we are ready as well
• 7:59 am
• Bugscope TeamThis is the head of a tiny wasp
• Bugscope Teamyou can control the scope with the navigation controls on the right side
• Bugscope Teamif you have any questions/problems please just ask
• TeacherYahoo! Would you start by giving us a few tips about "driving" the microscope!
• Bugscope Teamif you back up a little, take the mag down, you can see that it is from a collection and was stuck to a paper tab

• Bugscope Teamlooks like a paper surfboard
• Bugscope Teamits abdomen is sticking out of the other side
• Bugscope Teamit is better to use click to center than click to drive
• TeacherConnor sees the compound eyes!@
• Bugscope Teamif you use click to drive remember to click to stop
• Bugscope Teamyes!
• Bugscope Teamthe compound eyes are streamlined into the head

• Bugscope Teamyou can see wings on either side
• Bugscope Teamthis is the top edge of the aluminum stub Cate put the bugs on
• Bugscope Teamyou may click on any one of the presets to the right of the chat box
• Bugscope Teamand the 'scope will drive you to that place
• Bugscope Teamlet us know if you have any trouble
• Bugscope Team(this is Scot, using another computer as sj)

• Bugscope TeamNow we see the facets of the compound eye of the damselfly
• TeacherCould you tell us about the compound eyes?
• Bugscope Teamthe individual facets are called 'ommatidia'
• 8:04 am
• Bugscope Teameach is a tiny lens that gets its own image, and the images are all processed in the brain, much of which is dedicated to processing visual signals
• TeacherMonique asks, "Do all compound eyes have the hexagon shape?"
• Bugscope Teamsometimes they are pentagonal, but usually the individual ommatidia are indeed hexagonal
• TeacherMallory asks,"How many compound eyes do ladybugs have?"
  Bugscope Teamtwo compound eyes
• Bugscope Teama hexagon shape lends itself especially well to close packing, and to making the bulbous shape of the eye

• Bugscope Teamladybugs may have a couple of thousand facets to the eyes
• TeacherKennedy says that this looks like a bag.
  Bugscope Teamyeah, the compound eye can deflate when the insect dies, it dry's out and changes shape
• Bugscope Teamsome insects may have several thousand individual facets to their compound eyes
• TeacherAlexus asks,"Why do bugs have compound eyes?"
  Bugscope Teamif you had compound eyes you would have very good peripheral vision, much better than we do, and you would also be able to register changes in your visual field more readily -- you would be able to see movement much more quickly, which is very important in the fast-motion insect world
• Bugscope Teamyou can see that the eye is collapsed, and it is indeed like a bag

• TeacherLeila asks, "What are those little bumps?"
  Bugscope Teamthe bumps to the right, now, are bubbles in the carbon tape we use to stick the insects to the stub
• 8:10 am
• Bugscope Teamthe duller stuff closer to the head is silver paint

• Bugscope Teamdamselflies eat other insects

• Bugscope Teamyou can see that this specimen was very dry
• Bugscope Teamwe mount most 'bugs' on their backs, on the dorsal side with the ventral side up, so that we can see the arms/legs
• Bugscope Teamand the mouth, when it is visible

• Bugscope Teamthe scales have holes in them, that helps to keep them light
• Bugscope Teamnow we are looking very closely at a few Monarch butterfly scales
• Bugscope Teamthey are kind of like feathers
• TeacherMicah asks, "How do butterflies drink the nectar from the flowers?"
  Bugscope Teamthey use the proboscis, which extends out from the face area
• Bugscope Teamwhen you handle a butterfly or moth and it feels silky, and powder comes off -- the scales are the powder
• TeacherJustin is going to drive the microscope now.
  Bugscope Teamokay, go justin!

• Bugscope Teamyou can click on any preset to move the scope to that location
• TeacherJustin wants to know what the "lines" are.
  Bugscope Teamthose are the ribs of the scales, they hold it together, but yet are very light

• Bugscope Teamscales are very helpful if you fly into a web, because you can just leave them stuck there and possibly get away
• 8:16 am
• Bugscope Teammoths, butterflies, mosquitos, very few beetles/weevils, and silverfish have scales
• TeacherLeah asks, "How do butterflies fly in the rain?"
  Bugscope Teamif it's raining hard they will not try to fly
• TeacherMadilynn is the driver now.
  Bugscope Teammadilynn, go ahead and click on a preset in the lower right
• Bugscope Teamhey Madilynn

• TeacherMadilynn asks,
• TeacherMadilynn asks, " Do Painted Ladies migrate like Monarchs?"
  Bugscope Teamwell, i don't think it migrates as far as a regular monarch, but it does migrate in tropical zones
• TeacherJacob is the driver now.

• Bugscope TeamJacob you can select another preset if you would like, from those on the right of the chat box
• Bugscope Teamhey drivers, if you want to move somewhere fast, just click on a preset. or you can use "click to center"
• Bugscope Teamyou can see silver paint on the right, scales in the middle, and scales on the right that are charging up with electrons
• 8:21 am

• Bugscope Teamway to go jacob!
• Bugscope Teamthis is what Monarchs eat
• Bugscope Teamthis is milkweed
• Bugscope Teamthis is some of the fluff from a milkweed pod
• TeacherDavid is the driver now.

• Bugscope Teamhi david!
• Bugscope TeamHi David!

• Bugscope Teamto the left is the Monarch itself
• Bugscope Teamsans wings
• Bugscope Teammilkweed is also a very important nectar source for bees
• Bugscope Teamto the south is some salt, which is kind of cool
• TeacherHannah asks, "Why do you like bugs?"
  Bugscope Teami like learning about them because its amazing how much detail they have, detail that we can't see with our naked eyes, but with an electron microscope, wow!
• Bugscope Teammilkweed bugs can also be found on the plants in the late summer/early fall

• Bugscope Teamyou can move by taking the mag down as low as it will go, then using click to center at the edge of the screen

• Bugscope Teamthey are black with yellow or orange markings
• Bugscope Teamyeah bugs are cool because they do lots of the same things we do but differently
• TeacherGraeme asks, "Why do Monarch caterpillars eat milkweed?"
  Bugscope Teamwell, when the monarch is a caterpillar, it will feed on the milkweed nectar

• Bugscope Teamwe can see how they are adapted to live in their environments, and how they deal with eating, and grasping things, and getting around
• TeacherMadison asks, "What is the part shown on the screen right now?"
  Bugscope Teamthat is just one bit of fluff from inside a milkweed pod, and we see that the fluff is hollow, making it very lightweight
• 8:26 am
• TeacherCannon asks, "What are crickets' adaptations?"
  Bugscope Teamcrickets do not have as many adaptations as many insects -- they are more generalized, allowing them to survive under a variety of conditions
• TeacherMonique is the driver.
• Bugscope Teamwelcome monique

• Bugscope TeamCrickets have spines on their wings that when they rub their legs on them, they produce sounds that attract other crickets
• Bugscope TeamYou can also tell how cold it is by how fast or slow the cricket is chirping

• TeacherDavid asks,"What adaptation does a praying mantis have?"

• Bugscope Teamdid you know that you can calculate the temperature by the rate of the crickets chirping? using something called Dolbear's Law

• TeacherLeila thinks this is an eye.

• Bugscope Teampraying mantises have spikes on the inner parts of their forearms so they can hold onto their prey while they are biting it
• TeacherMonique thinks this is fur.
  Bugscope Teamit does look very furry, and really it is, just with different kinds of hairs- setae
• Bugscope Teampraying mantises also have big eyes, as many predators do, especially flying ones, so they can easily follow their prey
• TeacherConnor is the driver.

• Bugscope Teamsetae are those hair looking things. pronounced sea-tea
• 8:31 am

• Bugscope Teamsince insects have a hard exoskeleton that cannot feel things, they have those setae which stick through the exoskeleton to nerves underneath, and that's what they use to feel
• Bugscope Teamhi connor
• TeacherMadilynn says that it looks like a praying mantis body,
  Bugscope Teamit does from here, doesn't it?

• Bugscope Teamwe are looking very closely at the caterpillar mouthparts
• Bugscope Teamthis is an interesting caterpillar because it appears to have only piercing/sucking mouthparts
• Bugscope Teamwe don't know what kind of caterpillar it is
• TeacherClaire asks, "Why do most insects have antennae?"
  Bugscope Teaminsects often use their antennae as much or more than they use their eyes. antennae have arrays of chemosensors on them that allow the insect to sense chemicals (smells) in the air
• TeacherMicah is the driver.
• Bugscope Teambe sure to take the mag down if you want to see more
• Bugscope Teamgo micah!!!

• Bugscope Teamif you were an ant, you would get most of your information as useful smells
• 8:36 am
• Bugscope Teamif you take the smell of a dead ant and put it onto a live ant, the other ants will interpret that smell as telling them that the live ant with the dead smell on it is really dead
• Bugscope Teamso you can see that sometimes the antennae get information that might not be true
• TeacherLeila asks, "How do you see the stick bug in nature? Because since it blends in, how do you see it?"
  Bugscope Teamwell, it helps to see it when it moves, because it'll move unlike the sticks and plants move
• Bugscope Teamboy you could really be a successful spy ant if you used that trick...

• Bugscope Teamlots of camouflage animals in nature are safer if they stay still. once they move, they are more vulnerable

• Bugscope Teamwe can train ourselves to see things like walking sticks because we have a little more information at our disposal -- we know that those branches or twigs we see are out of place

• Bugscope Teamlook at the little eyes!
• TeacherKennedy says that it looks like a beetle.
  Bugscope Teamit does look like a beetle, doesn't it? but we can tell it's probably not because of the simple eyes
• Bugscope Teamthose are the simple eyes, called stemmata, on the caterpillar head
• TeacherKennedy asks, "What is the ladybug's adaptation?"
  Bugscope Teamthere are so many adaptations to each insect. one of the ladybug's is its spots and color, which warn other insects and birds that it tastes terrible
• TeacherMallory is the driver. She wants a new preset.
  Bugscope Teamgo ahead and click on any preset to go there
• Bugscope Teamhi mallory, click on a preset and it'll take you there
• 8:41 am

• Bugscope Teamnice job mallory!
• Bugscope Teamthis is a pollen grain, near the top left
• Bugscope Teamthis is a pollen grain on the inner curve of the claw of the Monarch butterfly
• TeacherConnor wants to know that "pollen gran on Monarch claw" means.
• Bugscope Teamthe pollen grain is the spikey thing
• Bugscope Teampollen grains sometimes have spikes on them so they can easily cling to insects
• Bugscope Teamwell, it means a pollen grain ended up on a monarch's claw

• Bugscope Teampollen is what flowers produce, and what many insects carry from flower to flower, for example, so that the flowers become pollinated and fruit grows, and seeds are produced in the fruit, and the seeds are disseminated by birds or people or insects or bears and end up growing new plants
• Bugscope TeamMonarch butterflies are noted for being able to smell with their feet
• TeacherJoseph asks, "How can you see a praying mantis and a walking stick because the walking stick looks like a stick and the praying mantis looks like grass?"
  Bugscope Teamwell, you can see it, because the shape of the entire mantis has a pattern to it and your brain learns to see that pattern, especially when the mantis moves. this is true for other animals that need to recognize the mantis as well, or any other insect. but sometimes you can't see it, that is true. camouflage does work
• Bugscope Teamwhen they land on a plant and want to find out if it is edible,for example, they scrape it with these claws, and the smell that comes from the wound to the leaf can be sensed by some of the setae.
• 8:46 am

• Bugscope Teamit's usually when insects move that we can see them
• TeacherAlexis says it looks like stones.
  Bugscope Teamyes! those are little blocks of salt!
• TeacherLeila says it looks like "cube blocks".
  Bugscope Teamabsolutely!
• Bugscope Teamthese are salt crystals from wendy's restaurant
• TeacherLeah says it looks sugar cubes.
• Bugscope Teamsodium chloride (salt) forms cubic crystals, like these.
• TeacherMallory asks, "How do bees make their hives?"
  Bugscope TeamThe colony of bees including the queen move into a dark place like a tree trunk, roof, or wall cavity, and the worker bees use honey that they have stored in their tummies as they left their original hive to make wax (bees wax). they chew up this wax and shape it into a new comb with hexagonal cells. The queen lays new eggs in this and the new colony starts.
• Bugscope Teamsugar cubes are cubic because we have formed the crystals into that shape, but if we were to look at the individual crystals of sugar we would see that they themselves are not cubic!
• TeacherMadilynn asks," What is the green stink bug's adaptation?"
  Bugscope Teamthe green stinkbug is colored to blend into its environment, and it can also produce a bad smell that discourages other insects and birds and people from bothering it

• 8:52 am

• Bugscope Teamclick again to stop!

• Bugscope Teamwhen using click to drive, you must click twice, once to start moving, then again to stop

• Bugscope Teamgood job!
• Bugscope Teamwhat is interesting is that stinkbugs are said to find their own stinky smell bad, themselves

• Bugscope Teamclick on a preset to go to an interesting location

• Bugscope Teamstinkbugs actually have little adaptations, little places on their exoskeleton, that help them dissipate the bad smell
• Bugscope Teamcaterpillars have what are called prolegs

• Bugscope Teamprolegs are like 'pre' legs or prototype legs

• Bugscope Teamhey cool!
• Bugscope Teamthis is the head of the Monarch
• TeacherHolland asks, " How do you get bees out of their hives without getting stung?"
  Bugscope Teamsmoke
• TeacherConnor thinks bees aren't insects.
  Bugscope Teambees have six legs and three body segments: the head, thorax, and abdomen; those are the main requirements for being an insect
• Bugscope TeamBeekeepers wear protective clothing so they won't get stung so easily

• 8:57 am

• Bugscope Teambeekeepers also use smoke to confuse the bees and slow them down so they will leave the hive without getting too radical and stingin everyone
• TeacherMadilynn is reading a butterfly field guide and wants to know the difference between a Monarch and a Viceroy butterfly.
  Bugscope Teamwell, they do look a lot alike don't they. but viceroys are mimics of monarchs, and we believe they mimic the monarch because the monarch tastes very bad to predators, so if a predator things you taste bad it may not eat you. but the viceroy is a different species than a monarch

• Bugscope Teamthat was a really good question!
• Bugscope Teamthey taste bad because of the milkweed they eat, which either tastes bad to insects are are poisonous
• Bugscope Teamthere are some flies that look like bees, and that appearance keeps them from being bothered
• TeacherLeah asks, "So, other butterflies get eaten, right?"
  Bugscope Teamyes they do

• 9:03 am

• Bugscope Teamyou would wonder why an insect would be brightly colored if it calls attention to itself

• Bugscope Teamthe answer is that if you call attention to yourself that could be a warning that you are dangerous

• TeacherMonique asks, "Do all bugs have bones?"
  Bugscope Teamno insects have bones, they have an exoskeleton instead
• Bugscope Teamthat's the way tattoos used to work, as a warning

• Bugscope Teambugs have their bones on the outside
• Bugscope Teaminsects are invertebrates, meaning no bones or skeletal structure
• TeacherHannah asks, "What is your faviorite bug?"
  Bugscope TeamI like earwigs and weevils
• Bugscope Team95% of all animal species are invertebrates
• Bugscope Teamthey are called invertebrates because they do not have vertebra -- or 'backbones'

• 9:08 am

• Bugscope Teamearwigs are interesting because they often have mites
• Bugscope Teami like mites, they are insects that bug other insects!
• Bugscope Teamand weevils are just super cute
• Bugscope Teamwell, mites are arachnida, not insects... sorry
• Bugscope Teamspiders arent insects but I like them. they have cool features
• Bugscope Teamhi joseph
• Bugscope Teamsee here? this is the proboscis of the Monarch butterfly. it is coiled up because it is not being used
• TeacherAlexus asks, "Why do you call bugs "insects"? You could call them bugs."
  Bugscope Teamsome insects are bugs
• TeacherMallory asks, "Do all female bugs lay eggs?"
• TeacherMadison asks, "Where did you get the bugs?"
  Bugscope Teamoh, we have a collection from our homes, work, anywhere. bugs are all over the place
• Bugscope Teamtrue bugs are the insects called Hemiptera
• Bugscope Teamtrue bugs have piercing mouthparts
• TeacherCannon wants to know how you get the bugs into the microscope.
  Bugscope Teamwe fix them to an aluminum disk that has carbon tape on it. We coat the samples with a metal alloy of gold/palladium. Then we vent the microscope and put them on the stage and pump the vacuum back
• 9:13 am
• TeacherKennedy asks,"What is the bee's adaptation?"
  Bugscope Teamhere is one adaptation honeybees have: they have a place on two of their legs that they cna pack honey onto
• TeacherLeila asks, "How would you see a leaf bug in nature if it is camouflaged in a leaf, how would you see it?"
  Bugscope Teamwe train ourselves to see the overall pattern -- the shape of the bug -- but also its position and whether it is moving
• Bugscope Teamwait, i meant Wingless insects, not flying insects. live are wingless insects
• TeacherLeah asks, "Do you know what a may beetle's prey is?"
  Bugscope Teamwell, i think may beetles eat plants only, they don't eat other insects
• Bugscope Teamlice are wingless insects....
• TeacherCannon is the driver.

• TeacherConnor wants to know if those are leaves its eyes.
  Bugscope Teamthose are scales from another insect
• TeacherCannon wants to know why the thorax looks "floppy".
  Bugscope Teamthe thorax is the 'chest' portion of the insect that the legs are attached to, so it is not really floppy
• Bugscope Teamthe scales are on the eyes because the wasp was collected with other insects that shed their scales

• 9:18 am
• TeacherMadilynn is wondering if the scales from the other insect hurts the wasp.
  Bugscope Teamwell, i don't think so, no in such a small quantity

• Bugscope Teamthe wasp could wipe the scales off of its eyes if it was alive

• Bugscope Teamthis is the fruit fly eye
• TeacherAlexus says it looks like sticks coming out of a wasp.
• TeacherKennedy says it looks like a compound eye.
  Bugscope Teamit is a compound eye!
• Bugscope Teamthe fruit fly eyes have little setae sticking out of them that allow them to sense wind speed
• Bugscope Teamand wind direction

• Bugscope Teamnow you can see more of it

• Bugscope Teamnow you can see ooops not now -- one of the spiracles

• Bugscope Teamif you click to drive you must also click to stop

• TeacherConnor asks,"What is that on the right side of the eye?"
  Bugscope Teamthat's part of the head, area between the eyes
• 9:24 am
• Bugscope Teamthat is the vestiture
• TeacherLeila was the driver of the fruit fly eye.
• Bugscope Teamthe vestiture is the 'dressing' on the head
• Bugscope Teamto the right are the antennae
• TeacherMadilynn asks,"Why is s ladybug called a ladybird?"
  Bugscope Teamwell, they call it a ladybird in the UK, ireland, australia, pakistan and south africa. but in america, they are known as ladybugs. probably just regional language differences.
• Bugscope Teamthey are also called lady beetles
• Bugscope TeamJoseph it is time for us to shut down and let other people use the microscope.

• Bugscope Teamjoseph, all the images and chat from todays session are on your member page:
• Bugscope Teamyes it is mostly likely because the words are so similar
• Bugscope Teamhttp://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2009-131
• TeacherHere are our final questions: Do bees have six legs because I have not caught one before and I wanted to know.
  Bugscope Teamyes. Bees are insects, and all insects have 6 legs
  Bugscope Teamyep, they always have six legs
• TeacherWhat do you do to figure all that stuff about bugs?
  Bugscope Teamsome stuff we know because we have been doing this for so long, and some things we have to look up!
• TeacherWhat is your favorite thing about Bugscope?
  Bugscope Teamwe love having the opportunity to share this technology and give students the chance to control a high-resolution scanning electron microscope
• 9:29 am
• TeacherThank you for sharing all of your bug stuff with us. Thank you for answering our questions. Thank you for showing the bugs that you showed to us.
• TeacherHave a good day! Love, Mrs. Metger's class!!
• Bugscope Teamno problemo, thank you!
• Bugscope Teamthank you for all your great questions!