Connected on 2010-01-21 10:00:00
from Balsam Lake, WI, US
- 9:19 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is the painted lady butterfly
- Bugscope Teamthis is the ant
- Bugscope Teamwe've got the map
- 9:24 am
- 9:30 am
- 9:36 am
- 9:42 am
- 9:47 am
- 9:54 am
- Bugscope Teamhi greg, welcome to bugscope!
- Bugscope Teamone more preset and then we are ready for you
- TeacherHello!
- Bugscope TeamGood Morning, Greg! Welcome to Bugscope!
- Bugscope Teamokay, we are ready. i've just unlocked the session
- Bugscope Teamyou should see controls on the right of the image
- Bugscope Teamplease let us know if you have any questions
- Bugscope Teamthis is a close-up of an antenna
- TeacherThe kids say this is awesome!
- Bugscope Teamgreat!
- Bugscope Teamplease let us know when you have questions
- Bugscope Teamwe have two entomologists this morning!
- TeacherGreat, hello!
- 9:59 am
- Bugscope TeamHi!
- TeacherKids, What is that circle at the bottom?
Bugscope TeamIt's the base of a seta that broke off, likely
- Bugscope Teamthe antenna is used for sensing things in the insects environment
- TeacherWhat is a seta?
- Bugscope Teamall insects have tiny hairs called setae or bristles or trichae or spines that help them sense their environment
- Bugscope Teamsetae look like bug hairs, but they are not quite like human hairs. setae (pronounced see-tee) are sensory things, that help insects to sense their environment
- Bugscope TeamThey're like hairs, but with nerves inside.
- Bugscope Teamseta = singular. setae = plural.
- Bugscope Team(so a haircut would hurt if you were an insect!)
- Bugscope Teamthe setae can be touch sensory, or they can collect smells (chemosensory), or they can register hot/cold
- TeacherThanks!
- Bugscope TeamSome setae can serve a defensive function (but then technically, I guess they would be spines in that case)
- Bugscope TeamThis is the surface of an antenna, so it's likely there are several of the different kinds of sensory setae here
- Bugscope TeamThe insect's whole body is covered in setae. There are more of them on the sensory parts (like antennae or mouthparts), but as you look around on the scope, you'll see them everywhere.
- Bugscope Teamyou can change the mag, up or down, or drive (using click to drive is better), or change contrast/brightness from your school
- 10:05 am
- Bugscope Teamif you want to see another bug, you can click on any of the 14 presets to the lower right
- Bugscope Teamyou are controlling a $600,000 electron microscope. and let us know if you have any problems driving
- TeacherKids, is this the rear end of the skin?
- Bugscope TeamYou know, I am not sure where this is. Why don't you try to reduce the magnification to see where we are
- Bugscope TeamThat button is in the upper right corner of the screen
- Bugscope TeamYes, that's the back-end of the shed mealworm skin
- Bugscope TeamThat might be the minimum....yep you were right. It looks like the end of the mealworm abdomen
- 10:10 am
- Bugscope TeamWhoops, gave away the answer, sorry I misread
- Bugscope TeamSo what we're looking at now is not a live insect, but the remains of a molt. Insects have to shed their skin to get larger, because the exoskeleton doesn't grow or stretch like our own skin.
- TeacherThe kids each have taken care of two mealworms
- Bugscope TeamTravelling up, these are some more body sections. They'
- Bugscope TeamOh, great! So you guys know all about molting.
- Teacherand have observed their life cycle!
- TeacherYes
- Bugscope TeamThey've distorted here because it's hollow on the inside and the exoskeleton hasn't held it's shape
- TeacherThey say it looks like a paper bag up close!
- Bugscope TeamIt does! And it's really not that much different. If you were small, you could probably use the molted skin to carry things around. ;)
- Bugscope TeamThat was the claw on the end of a leg of the mealworm
- Bugscope TeamOne of the reasons that entomologists think that many insects look so different as larvae and adults is because having different body forms allows them to specialize during different times in their lives. When they are larvae, they eat and eat and eat. And they can't mover very far and they can't find mates. All that eating allows them to bulk up when they are young so that they can focus on flying around and finding mates when they are adults.
- 10:15 am
- Bugscope TeamYou can see two especially large setae, serving as spines, to the lower--left
- TeacherThanks!
- Bugscope TeamThe legs of most insects are tipped with claws, but they are mostly used for holding onto rough surfaces. They look nasty up close like this, but it's not so bad when they're walking on you.
- TeacherWhat is a spiracle?
- Bugscope TeamSpiracles are openings into the insect's
- Bugscope TeamSorry - wrong key!
- Bugscope TeamOpenings into the insect's "tracheal system" - this is a system of tubes inside the body that are filled with air, and through which the insect breathes.
- Bugscope TeamSpiracles are small holes in the exoskeleton through which air can diffuse, allowing the insects to breath. They don't have muscles like our diaphragm to draw in air so their breathing is less efficient than ours, one of the things that limits their size
- Bugscope TeamMost insect blood does not carry oxygen like ours does--so oxygen has to reach each individual cells via the tracheal system
- Bugscope TeamOn the other hand, they don't breath and eat through the same place - so they never have to worry about choking. It has its upside.
- TeacherGreat information
- TeacherWow!
- 10:21 am
- Bugscope TeamThe spiracles are all up and down the body, usually in a line along the middle. You can see them with just your eyes on large grasshoppers - take a look next time you catch one.
- Bugscope TeamNow we're looking at the surface of a fly's compound eye.
- TeacherWhat are the little bumps on the eye?
Bugscope TeamEach bump is an ommatidium
- Bugscope TeamNow we're seeing several individual facets of a compound eye which are called ommatidia
- Bugscope TeamOmmatidia a 'simple' eyes - they can catch ("see") one photon. Like rods and cones in our own retinas.
- Bugscope TeamEach ommatidium has a lens like our eye and forms a simple image, then the fly's brain combines the images from all of the ommatidia
- TeacherHow many do they have?
Bugscope TeamIt depends on the insect. The more important vision is to its life, the more ommatidia. It can range from many thousand (like this fly, or a dragonfly) to just five or six.
- Bugscope TeamSome insects that live underground actually have no ommatidia--they are blind
- 10:26 am
- Bugscope TeamIn that case, the insects likely rely on chemical signals to find their way around.
- Bugscope TeamThus, all the hairs that we saw earlier.
- Bugscope TeamThis is right above the mouth palps (little "hands") on the Cricket, maybe Rob or Annie will know what it is
- TeacherWhat are the hairs sticking out?
- Bugscope TeamCould be the clypeus--which is kind of like an upper lip
- Bugscope TeamThe hairs could be sensory, but they seem a little small for that. Perhaps for helping to sop up liquids or food, like a broom.
- Bugscope TeamGreg, if you zoom out you can see it in context with the rest of the mouth (minus button in the Magnify control)
- Bugscope TeamOnce you start driving, you can click again in the image to stop driving.
- 10:31 am
- TeacherCan you tell what part of the cricket this is?
Bugscope TeamI am fairly sure this is the middle of the prothorax. You can decrease the magnification to check
- Bugscope TeamIt's hard to say where without seeing it at lower magnification, but I spy part of a leg along the right edge of the image
- TeacherThanks!
- Bugscope TeamNow we're seeing the mouth of a butterfly - or rather, the proboscis.
- TeacherThis is the proboscis?
Bugscope TeamIt is!
- Bugscope TeamThese are held coiled up, like a length of rope, underneath the head of the butterfly.
- Teacherokay
- Bugscope TeamYou can see the coil very well from this perspective - pretty cool! The tip of the proboscis is in the middle-right.
- TeacherThey say it looks like a science fiction movie!
- Bugscope TeamTo extend the proboscis, they pump blood into it. It is sort of like those party horns that you blow and they uncurl.
- 10:37 am
- Bugscope TeamThey use this to reach deep inside flowers and suck out the nectar.
- Bugscope TeamAlthough if you want to hear some science fiction - there are some moths that use it to suck blood! Luckily they live on the other side of the world.
Bugscope TeamI saw a talk on those moths at the Entomology Meeting this past year. They think they evolved from moths that used the proboscis to suck the juice of fruit.
- TeacherCool
- TeacherIs this the eye above?
Bugscope TeamDefinitely looks like it. If you zoom in, we will know for sure if we see the ommatidia.
- Bugscope TeamI watched a video of the moth sucking blood from someone's thumb. The author of the talk said it was "uncomfortable".
- Bugscope Team(Disclaimer: the blood-sucking moths are very rare and are only found in remote parts of Russia. Have no fear of local moths)
- Bugscope TeamAnd there they are!
- Bugscope TeamWe have a compound eye!
- TeacherWow
- Bugscope TeamSince there are so many, we can assume that vision is very important for the butterfly. And that makes sense, because they have to find flowers.
- Bugscope TeamExcellent! You can see plenty of ommatidia and lots of long hairs from between ommatidia, a common feature of moths
- Teacheryes
- 10:42 am
- Bugscope TeamWe're still looking at the butterfly, but these are the scales that cover the wings.
- Bugscope TeamRight now we're zoomed on a tiny part of a single scale.
- Bugscope TeamThese scales are pretty amazing. The size of the features you're seeing here (as indicated by the scale bar in the lower-left), are much smaller than 2 microns, probably closer to several hundred nanometers, or about the same size as the wavelength of light
- TeacherWow that is small!
- Bugscope TeamA light microscope cannot see features this small, so this is where the higher resolution of an electron microscope is very valuable
- Bugscope TeamNow we are seeing a few of the scales together.
- Bugscope TeamThe scales give the butterfly wings their colors, and also make them slippery.
- 10:47 am
- Bugscope TeamThe slippery part is helpful if it hits a spider web - instead of catching the moth or butterfly, it catches a bunch of wing scales.
- Bugscope TeamThat's also why your fingers look dusty if you handle one.
- Bugscope TeamIf you have every tried to pick up a butterfly, you know how hard they are to hold onto. They cover your fingers with dust. Those scales help the butterfly to escape.
- Bugscope TeamYou can see these scales starting to get brighter. That's a phenomenon called "charging", and happens because the sample is electrically grounded. The electrons used to image the sample are building up a charge on the surface, and as they do the image brightens like that
- TeacherInteresting!
- Bugscope TeamWe coat the samples with a super-fine layer of metal (gold and palladium) in order to make them electrically conductive, but scales and fine hairs are especially difficult to coat
- Bugscope TeamNow we're looking at the underside of an insect larva.
- GuestHi everyone! Sorry for lurking there for a minute. Scott emailed me to let me know that you would be using an ant and a fly we sent in from WT. I am enjoying all of the different bugs, too.
- Bugscope TeamHis head (and mouth) is towards the top.
- TeacherWe use these for ice fishing bait
- Bugscope TeamNo problem Mrs. V.
- Bugscope TeamHi Mrs. V! We saw an eye from that fly a little earlier.
- Teachergreat!
- GuestI feed these to my blue-tongued skink and my leopard gecko.
- Bugscope TeamUnfortunately it looks like this wax worm larva is a bit dirty, so the surface is obscured a bit.
- GuestI saw the fly eye! Really cool!
- Bugscope TeamYou can still see the little prolegs...well, you could
- Teacherooooooooh
- Bugscope TeamThe electron microscope only sees the surface of the sample, as opposed to a light microscope where light would go right through an oily or waxy coating. With the electron microscope we just slee a smooth surface of grime
- GuestRob, we do a bug-tasting day in 6th grade. I would love to have the waxworm "recipe" if there is one or frying method.
Bugscope TeamAs I recall, we fry them in oil and butter, and add salt. It's like popcorn.
- 10:52 am
- TeacherHere is the house fly wing
Bugscope TeamWe are super zoomed in
- GuestYum! ;-) Thanks.
- Bugscope TeamThis is an extreme close-up of a row of larger spine-like setae along the edge of the fly's wing. I find the intricuit patterns on the individual seta fascinating
- Bugscope TeamYes, it is really interesting how they are put together--how the proteins and chitin line up to form the setae and spines.
- Bugscope TeamThe patterns are so tiny, it's easy to imagine they have some sort of unusual physical property which is important to the insect. Maybe it affects the flow of air, maybe it affects the way water beads up...
- Bugscope TeamThis is the very edge of the wing
- TeacherWe need to go but we thank you very much this was great!!!!
- GuestWhoa! Whe does the housefly have so many setae on its wings? I always imagined them to be smooth. How wrong can you get. :-)
Bugscope TeamThey probably help the wing to be more aerodynamic. The middle, thin part of the wing doesn't have any nerves, so those tiny little hairs probably don't have a sensory function
- TeacherWe have learned so much and this is so cool!!!
- TeacherGreat job!!!
- Bugscope TeamReally glad to have you on Greg!
- GuestSorry, I didn't know you were ending. THanks so much for letting me sit in!
- Bugscope TeamYes, thanks for joining is Mrs. V
- 10:57 am
- Bugscope TeamNo problem, Mrs. V - and check the web for some of those bug recipes, there are a lot of things out there.
- Bugscope TeamThere is a book called "Man Eating Insects" that talk all about entomophagy by people
- Bugscope TeamMrs. V, I would offer to let you drive around and see your ant for a bit longer, but unfortunately I'm the only one able to shut down the 'scope and I have to take off
- Bugscope TeamGreg, thank you and your students for all your questions!!
- GuestTHanks so much for answering my questions! My students are still talking about their Bugscope experience as being one of the best things they have sone in school! THanks again!
- Bugscope TeamActually, Mrs V, someoen else jsut came by. Do you want to control for a few minutes?
- GuestI appreciated being able to sit in at all! THanks for all your help. Bye!
- GuestSUre thing!
- Bugscope TeamAll right everyone. Over and out from California!!
- Bugscope TeamAlright, you should have the controls!
- Bugscope TeamAnnie, Rob, thanks so much!
- GuestSweet!
- Bugscope TeamNo problem. Don't have too much fun without us ;)
- Bugscope TeamMrs V, I have to take off, but Alex should be on in a few to shut-down when you're done. Just leave him a message letting him know when you're done
- GuestOK, I will do that--THanks a bunch!
- 11:02 am
- GuestLooking at the the ant's antenna now
- GuestBase of ant's antenna
- GuestHi Alex. If you are ready to shut her down I can be done. I am just poking around looking at an ant we sent in that didn't make it on our stub last week.
- 11:07 am
- Bugscope Teamok now problem, please go ahead
- Bugscope Teamwe can give you another few minutes at least
- GuestI don't want to take up your time so please let me know when you would like me to be done.
Bugscope Teamno problemo, i'll come back in about 5 minutes
- GuestCool!
- 11:13 am
- 11:18 am
- 11:23 am
- GuestSo much of this looks like art!
- GuestThanks for letting me drive for an extra bit of time, Alex! I really enjoyed it! Have a great day! Bye!
- 11:28 am
- GuestTHis is addictive....but I really have to go. Thanks again!
- GuestOK, for real now. Bye!
- 11:35 am
- Bugscope Teamok, gotta go, nice session everyone
