Connected on 2010-02-24 11:00:00
from Chicago, IL, US
- 10:40 am
- Bugscope Teamsession unlocked, we are ready to roll
- Bugscope Teamstart time is 11am
- 10:47 am
- 10:53 am
- Bugscope Teamhi guys
- Bugscope Teamwelcome to bugscope
- Bugscope Teamhi steiger, welcome to bugscope
- Bugscope Teamhello, welcome to bugscope!
- Bugscope Teamwe are ready for you anytime
- TeacherThanks we are ready to roll too
- Bugscope Teamplease let us know if you have any questions
- Bugscope Teamare your students going to login as well, or are you projection your screen?
- 10:58 am
- Teacherwe are using a projection screen
Bugscope Teamcool, that's just fine
- Bugscope Teammeeks, you should have control of the scope now, do you see controls on the right side?
- Teacheryes
- Bugscope Teamexcellent, you can use those controls to drive the scope anywhere you want. you can also click on any preset (lower right) and the scope will move there
- Bugscope Teamright now, we are looking at a close-up of a fly's eye - a compound eye
- Bugscope Teamthis is a leafhopper, the front of its head
- Bugscope Teamyou can see it's two compound eyes on either side of its head, and the proboscis is sticking out of its mouth area in the lower right of the image
- Bugscope Teamnow you can see that this leafhopper was part of someone's collection
- TeacherIt looks like there is a black hole in the abdomen. What is that?
Bugscope Teamthat is where someone stuck the bug with a pin
- Bugscope Teamheh, check out the hole where someone stuck the bug with a pin
- Bugscope Teamwith the large pinhole through its thorax
- Bugscope Teamsome of these specimens were part of an entymologist's project
- Bugscope Teamleafhoppers are true bugs (Hemiptera), and true bugs have piercing/sucking mouthparts
- TeacherWhat are the things coming out of the eye sockets?
Bugscope Teamthose are antennae. it has short spikey looking antennae
- Bugscope Teamthat long tube like thing above the black hole is the proboscis, that is what the leafhopper uses to feed. it sticks the proboscis into a plant and sucks out the juices, or something close to that...
- Bugscope Teamwe can see its proboscis now, right next to the hole
- 11:04 am
- TeacherWhat do they use the antennae for?
Bugscope Teaminsects use their antennae like we use our eyes and ears and noses -- they help them sense their environment
- Bugscope Teamor course insects also have eyes, which work mostly like ours
- Bugscope Teamthe antennae have chemosensors on them that help the insect smell chemicals in the air and on things they touch
- TeacherIt looks like hair on its head? Is it?
Bugscope Teaminsects have lots of hair on them called setae (see-tee). They use these hairs to help them sense what's going on around them in their environment, like touch, taste/smell, vibrations (in the case of the spider)
- Bugscope Teamthis part of the head has ridges on it that we think are part of the pumping apparatus that allows the proboscis to suck liquids up
- 11:09 am
- Bugscope Teambe sure, when you would like, to choose another preset from what you can see on the right of this chat box
- Bugscope Teaminsects are invertebrates, meaning that they do not have backbones. they actually do not have any bones at all -- they have, instead, an exoskeleton. meaning that the support for the body is on the outside.
- Bugscope Teamso insects have armor, in a way. it would be like if you wore a suit or armor -- you would not be able to feel things touching you
- TeacherHow does this aphid eat?
- Bugscope Teaminsects, and other small arthropods, have those tiny setae that stick through the armor and help them sense their environment
- Bugscope Teamthey feed through a tube like the leafhopper
- Bugscope Teami dont see it here, but aphids have a proboscis (a long feeding tube like an elephant's trunk) they use to drink liquids
- Bugscope Teamthere are some adult insects that have no mouthparts, their only job is to reproduce
- TeacherSo they only drink? No eating or chewing?
- Bugscope Teamyes! lots of insects only drink
- Bugscope Teamand spiders only drink, as well
- 11:14 am
- TeacherBut spiders bite! Do they just bite and let go?
- Bugscope Teamspiders inject a corrosive venom into their prey that dissolves the inner organs, and the spiders then suck that all up like a milkshake
- Bugscope Teamsome insects do that as well, like assassin bugs
- Bugscope Teamtheir own insides must not be soluble in the same venom
- Bugscope Teamhere is a fly head, with its mouth part sticking out
- Bugscope Teamfruit flies and some other flies have sponging mouthparts
- TeacherIs that long thing with lips his mouth?
- Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- Bugscope Teammany flies spit saliva on their food that solubilizes (dissolves) their food, and then they sponge that up
- Bugscope Teamsome of the long setae we see now are mechanoreceptors -- they are much like cat or rat whiskers
- Bugscope Teamthe fly can sense wind, or touch, using those setae
- Bugscope Teamthose setae are needed because insects don't have nerves in their skin like humans do. in fact, insects don't have skin at all. they have a hard outer shell, called an exoskeleton
- Bugscope Teamsome setae sense hot/cold as well, and some sense certain chemicals, as Cate has said earlier
- 11:20 am
- TeacherAre we looking at the bottom of the fly?
Bugscope Teamyes this is the ventral side -- the underside
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the fly's compound eye now, and some of its palps, which are accessory mouthparts that help it taste and manipulate its food
- Bugscope Teamwe usually mount insects dorsal side down so we can see the mouthparts, and the arms/legs
- TeacherDo flies hear?
Bugscope Teamthey can hear, but they do not have ears
Bugscope Teamwell yes, but not with ears. they can hear with those hairs (setae), which vibrate and send signals to nerves underneath the exoskeleton
- Bugscope Teamthey use their setae to help them sense vibrations in the air, which is what sound is
- Bugscope Teamsome insects, like the praying mantis, have what is said to be one big ear, and I think it is on the thorax -- the main body part to which the legs and arms and head and abdomen are attached
- TeacherWhat are those antennae sticking up used for?
Bugscope Teamthose are hairs, or setae, that are very stuff to help it tell the direction of the wind currents so it can navigate optimally
- Bugscope Teamthe little domes there are individual ommatidia -- the facets of the compound eye
- 11:25 am
- Bugscope Teameach one of those ommatidium has a lens in it
- Bugscope Teamif you had compound eyes you would see lots of tiny images, and you would have better peripheral vision --- the ability to see around you without turning your head
- Bugscope Teamand if you had compound eyes you would also be able to detect motion -- changes in the visual field -- much more readily
- Bugscope Teamthat is why flies can often avoid being caught -- they can see you coming
- Teacherhow many ommatidium are there?
Bugscope Teamon flying insects there can be thousands. some ground based insects have much fewer, like 40-100 maybe?
- Bugscope Teambesides ommatidia, the facets of the compound eye, many flying insects have simple eyes, called ocelli, and their are usually three of those on the top of the head
- Bugscope Teampreset no. 6 shows ocelli, and if you then zoom out you can see the compound eyes
- 11:31 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is so cool!
- Bugscope Teamsee the mandibles of the leafcutter ant?
- Bugscope Teamthey are serrated, like a steak knife, so they can cut leaves
- Teacherwhat are the mandibles used for?
- Bugscope Teamthey cut leaves and carry them away
- Bugscope Teamthey have extra long legs that allow them to cut and carry large pieces of leaves
- Teacherdo they turn the leaf into a milkshake? what do they do with the leaves?
Bugscope TeamI believe they are like farmers. They dont eat the leaves, they gather them and put them somewhere else
- 11:36 am
- Bugscope Teamthey use the pieces of leaves to grow fungus
- Bugscope Teamthanks scot
- Bugscope Teamit is like they farm fungus, and they chew the leaf parts to make them ready for the fungus to grow on them
- Bugscope Teamthe fungus is a crop, and both the ants and the fungus depend on each other for survival
- Bugscope Teamthe fungus provides the ants with nutrients they need, and the fungus even has special features called gongylidia that the ants feed from
- Bugscope Teamuh oh!
- 11:41 am
- Bugscope Teamsee the spider fangs?
- Teacherwhat are they used for? to take a bite?
Bugscope Teamthey use them to inject their prey with the venom, there are little poison pores near the tips that we cant really see.
- Bugscope Teamsometimes we see little ridged places below the fangs that help the spider hold its prey while it is using its fangs
- Teacherwhy are spiders so hairy?
Bugscope Teamthose hairs are setae, and they help the spider to feel its way around. without those setae the spider would be blind as a bat!
- Bugscope Teamabove the fangs are those large lobes called chelicers, or chelicerae, that open left and right to spread the fangs
- Bugscope Teamwhen a male spider wants to avoid being bitten by a female, in some cases he will put a little glob of web between the chelicers so the female cannot bite him
- Teacherso spiders don't have eyes?
Bugscope Teamthey do, but we can't see them from this view. They are on the top of the head, and we are looking at the bottom part
- Bugscope Teamspiders often have eight eyes that are kind of like simple insect eyes, like ocelli
- Bugscope Teamthey have simple eyes, called ocelli. but they don't have the full range of sight like a fly would with a compound eye. some ants don't have any eyes at all
- 11:47 am
- Bugscope Teamspiders as far as we know do not ever have compound eyes
- Bugscope Teamsome spiders can see pretty well, but most rely more on the setae (the hairs) to help them sense vibration
- Teacherdo the fangs ever break off? If so do they grow back?
Bugscope Teamthey probably do break off, sometimes
- Bugscope Teamspiders can go through a lot of molts, if the spider survives until the next molt, it is possible its limbs that broke off previously will be grown back
- Bugscope Teamsome spiders molt, and it is possible that when they shed their old 'skin' and replace it with a fresh 'skin,' it would have new fangs
- Bugscope Teamoops Cate beat me
- TeacherIs a spider an exoskeleton?
Bugscope Teamthat is a good question -- they have a soft body, but they do not have an internal skeleton. so I am not sure it is called an exoskeleton
- Bugscope TeamI mean they have a soft cuticle -- the surface of the body
- 11:53 am
- Teacherdoes a spider molt every year? And where do spiders go in the winter?
Bugscope TeamHmm, I'm not sure about what spiders do in the cold winter. But most spiders live 2-3 years tops, so they probably molt just once or twice?
- Bugscope Teamokay i looked this up -- the cephalothorax, which is the head/body combination -- is hardened, whereas the abdomen is softer
- Bugscope Teamso a spider has a hard exoskeleton except for its abdomen -- which is the rounded part that holds the spinnerets
- Bugscope Teambirds can molt more than once a year though, not sure if spiders can?
- Bugscope Teami think the bigger spiders like tarantulas molt more than small ones, but I'm not an expert
- Bugscope Teamoh wait, yes, i found a reference to spider molting online, they do molt quite often, some molt 4-7 times as juviniles!
- 11:58 am
- Bugscope Teamit all depends on the species, and also where they live
- Bugscope Teamsome spiders, when they fully mature, they won't molt anymore either
- TeacherThank you all for your time! This was way cool.
- Bugscope Teamthank you , you did great!
- Bugscope Teamthese are called 'plumose' setae because they are frilly, kind of like pine trees
- Bugscope TeamThank You!
- Bugscope TeamSee you next year!
- Bugscope Teamthank you for a great session
- Bugscope Teamdon't forget, all the chat and images from today's session are online at: http://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2009-162
- Bugscope Teamhi a, welcome to bugscope
- Guestthanks! very interesting
- Bugscope Teama! Alex gave you control if you would like to drive now.
- Bugscope Teama, you should see controls on the right side now
- Bugscope Teamfeel free to drive around real quick. any questions?
- Bugscope Teamand you can drive directly or choose from among the presets on the right
- Bugscope Teamspider face
- Bugscope Teamfangs
- Guestwhat kind of spider is this?
- 12:03 pm
- GuestI'm actually here because I'm working on an educational program for elementary students - we would love to make Bugscope part of it.
- GuestI was lucky to find a session today!
- Bugscope Teamsometimes we have the opportunity to collect them in ethanol and critical point dry them so they don't shrivel much
- Bugscope Teamwhere are you from, a?
- GuestNew Brunswick, Canada
- Bugscope Teamnow you can focus
- Bugscope Teamcool!]
- GuestThanks
- Bugscope Teamfocus is either one way or the other -- up or down
- Bugscope Teamso if it looks like it's getting worse go the other way
- Bugscope Teamnice!
- 12:08 pm
- Bugscope Teama you can choose from among any of the presets if you want to explore something else
- GuestGreat, thanks
- Bugscope Teamwe like it best when the kids have their own computers or work two to a computer so they can ask us questions
- Bugscope Teambut today's session went very well. it really depends on the school's resources and the age of the kids
- Bugscope Teamthis is a leafhopper
- Bugscope Teamthey produce tiny particles called brochosomes -- nanoparticles
- Bugscope Teambut we did not find any brochosomes on this leafhopper
- Bugscope Teamwe did find some on the eye of the fly
- Bugscope Teamthis is the pumping apparatus in the middle of the head
- Bugscope Teamthat allows the leafhopper to suck fluids out of plants using its proboscis
- GuestIs a leafhopper a true bug?
- 12:13 pm
- Bugscope Teamyes Hemiptera
- GuestGreat
- Bugscope Teamwe see a lot of hemipterans
- Bugscope Teamthis is cool, and we do not see these opften
- Bugscope Teamoften..
- Bugscope Teamthey have super long legs, for ants
- Bugscope Teamthe scape
- Bugscope Teamand the little ball-and-socket joint
- 12:18 pm
- Bugscope Teambrb
- Guestok
- Bugscope Teamback, thanks
- Bugscope Teamlet us know when you have questions
- GuestSure, this is fascinating.
- Bugscope Teamflying aphid
- Bugscope Teamdo you teach biology?
- GuestNot exactly - involved in a project where I'm learning a lot about it - I have an arts background.
- Bugscope Teamcool!
- GuestThe project is called Whoo Club - one year focuses on arthropod body parts.
- Bugscope Teamwe should be able to help with that
- 12:23 pm
- GuestWhat does your job involve?
- Bugscope Teamwe train people to run a suite full of microscopes
- Bugscope Teamgraduate students and postdocs, mostly, so they can use the instruments to do their own research, or that of their professors
- GuestWhat is the best method of collecting specimens - are killing jars or freezers better?
- Bugscope TeamBugscope is an outreach project we have done for almost 11 years
- Bugscope Teamwe think freezing is better
- GuestInteresting.
- GuestOk, good, that sounds preferable.
- Bugscope Teambecause it seems like a killing jar makes the insects throw up, and messes up their mouthparts
- Bugscope Teamyes since the end of 1998
- Bugscope Teambut some critters are softbodied and are better if we get them in alcohol so we can critical point dry them
- GuestWhich critters would those be?
- Bugscope Teamtonight from 7 to 9 our time we connect with a horticulture class that has given us a lot of mites, aphids, etc.
- 12:29 pm
- Bugscope Teamdustmites, aphids, spiders are softvbodied; also aqueous critters like some larvae
- GuestOut of curiousity, what are the biggest things you could put under the microscope?
- Bugscope Teamif we get mosquitos in ethanol and critical point dry them we often get to see mouthparts we would not normally see
- Bugscope Teamthe stage is 1.75 inches across, so it is best if things are small
- Bugscope Teama cicada is too big, like an aircraft carrier
- Bugscope TeamI have put a pair of pliers in the 'scope, but you can only see the central part
- GuestThank you so much Scot - this has been very interesting and helpful.
- GuestI really appreciate it.
- Bugscope TeamThank You!
- Bugscope TeamBe sure to send in an application.
- GuestWill do.
