Connected on 2010-05-25 10:30:00
from Ponder, TX, US
- 9:25 am
- Bugscope Teampumping down...
- 9:38 am
- 9:45 am
- Bugscope Teamnow we're making the presets for today's session
- 9:51 am
- Bugscope TeamSome serious eyelashes there
- 9:56 am
- Bugscope TeamOn the librarian?
- Bugscope Teamor the flea?
- Bugscope TeamThe beetle I think, it was a while ago
- 10:02 am
- 10:08 am
- Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
- Bugscope TeamWe are still working on the presets, almost done.
- Bugscope TeamMr Ruiz we are done and you may have control as soon as you wish.
- 10:18 am
- TeacherGood morning guys
- Bugscope TeamMorning!
- Bugscope TeamGood Morning!
- Bugscope Teamlet us know if you have any questions, any trouble.
- Bugscope TeamWe put the critters you sent on the stub and then added a few.
- TeacherOk, great. I was just looking at those. Cool! Thanks!
- Bugscope Teamyou can select from among the presets just by clicking]
- Bugscope Teamthe 'scope will move to that position
- Bugscope Teamand you can change mag, go out of focus, run off of the stage...
- Bugscope Teamyou have worked with us before...
- Bugscope Teamwe took click to drive off and have only click to center now
- 10:23 am
- Teachersounds good
- Bugscope Teamthe forearm segments are called tarsi, or tarsomeres
- Bugscope Teamthe bristles we see -- the ridged setae, are likely mechanosensory
- Bugscope Teamlike a cat's or rat's whiskers
- Bugscope Teamnow we see the head, of course, and the various components of the antennae, the compound eyes, and the sponging mouthparts
- Bugscope Teamthe mouthparts are soft, and when they dry after the fruit fly dies, they shrivel up a bit
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the individual facets of the compound eye here, and you can see that they have tiny mechanosensory setae in between them
- 10:29 am
- TeacherDoes the fruit fly see out of each eye? Since it is a compound eye?
- Bugscope Teamwe don't always agree about what it sees; I believe it sees multiple images and assembles them into a coherent whole image
- Bugscope Teamsome flying insects also have three ocelli --- simple eyes -- on the top of their heads
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the ocelli here, like little spider eyes on top of the head
- Bugscope Teamthe great majority of the fruit fly's brain is devoted to visual processing
- TeacherVery cool
- Bugscope Teamif you had compound eyes you would have much better peripheral vision, and you would be more sensitive to changes in the visual field -- to motion, for example
- Bugscope Teamwhich might make you harder to catch
- Bugscope Teamthis is an aphid, and we can see its proboscis running down the middle of its body
- 10:35 am
- Bugscope Teamaphids are plant pests, and they use their probosces to pierce leaves, for example, and suck out the plant juices
- Bugscope Teamsometimes aphids are 'farmed' by ants, who protect them and are rewarded by sweet nectar that comes from the cornicles, which look like little dual exhausts coming out of the top back side of the abdomen.
- Teacherwow, never knew that
- Bugscope Teamaphids have soft bodies, unlike most insects, which have harder, more rigid exoskeletons
- Bugscope Teamsome aphids, however, do not produce nectar from the cornicles. they produce a kind of glue that immobilizes ants that pester them. like a hot met glue gun
- Bugscope Teamhot melt glue gun...
- Bugscope Teamthe background that sometimes looks bubbly is carbon tape that I used to stick the insects on
- 10:40 am
- Bugscope Teamhere is a male mosquito
- Bugscope Teamthey have frilly antennae compared to the females
- Bugscope Teamwhen we have an aphid that looks fairly intact, like this, it's because we processed it through an ascending ethanol series, to 100%, and then critical point dried it to prevent it from shriveling.
- Bugscope Team(like the aphid way back when I started typing..., since as Cate says, this is a male mosquito)
- Bugscope Teammale mosquitoes do not suck blood
- TeacherInteresting
- Bugscope Teamthey often live on nectar, although I think some, like some other adult insects, especially males, do not eat at all
- Bugscope Teamsome male adult insects do not have mouthparts
- Bugscope Teamsome may live in the adult form for only a few hours
- TeacherMy class wants to know why the males do not eat
Bugscope Teamthey are only needed to fertilize the females. That is their only goal in life. The only reason females eat is because they need the food to lay their eggs
- Bugscope TeamIn the cases where they don't have mouthparts, it's usually because they only live long enough to mate
- 10:46 am
- Bugscope Teamthe female mosquitoes, most of them (there are some that do not suck blood), need to have a blood meal, as Cate says, in order to successfully lay their eggs
- TeacherThanks
- Bugscope TeamGood morning, Sherri!
- Bugscope Teamthis is a feature we have seen before on other true bugs, like on stinkbugs, and we are not sure what it does
- GuestGood morning. I'm just visiting. Our group is scheduled in August and I want to see a program live.
- Bugscope Teamstinkbugs do not like the stink that they themselves make, and they are said to have absorbent areas on their cuticle that suck up the bad smell. so I'd been thinking that was what this is
- TeacherGood morning Sherri.
- Bugscope TeamHi Joni!
- Bugscope Teamthis is cool!
- Bugscope Teamwe don't always get such a good view of the tip of the proboscis of a true bug
- 10:51 am
- Bugscope Teamthe setae we see a little further back are likely chemosensory -- they allow the insect to taste what it is preparing to suck up
- Bugscope Teamthis is a water strider you sent us, Mr Ruiz, and it is in very good shape, looks so nice
- TeacherGreat
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the compound eyes, and the other end of the proboscis, and parts of the forelimbs
- Bugscope Teamyou thought this might be a mosquito when you sent it to us, but look at the nice surprise
- Bugscope TeamCate put one of our mosquitoes on the stage today as well.
- TeacherGood to know that it is actually a water strider
- 10:57 am
- Bugscope Teamso they use those piercing mouthparts to feed on other insects
- Bugscope Teamand speaking of predators...
- Bugscope Teamthis is the head of the ladybug, and it is quite busy-looking
- Bugscope Teamthey have four palps that help them taste and manipulate their food, and they have two mandibles, of which we can see one fairly well
- TeacherI think I've seen this in a movie before. Men in Black? lo
- Bugscope Teamyes!
- Bugscope Teamhaha
- Bugscope Teamthe things that resemble vacuum cleaner nozzles are the larger of the two sets of palps
- Bugscope Teamyou can also see the eyes, barely, and the forelimbs, and the bases of the antennae
- TeacherThe class wanted to know why the ladybug has the well know red with black spots?
Bugscope Teamthe bright colors like reds, yellows, or oranges are used as a warning to others. So the spots are a warning to others. Ladybugs dont taste good or smell good to other insects.
- 11:02 am
- TeacherAnd why are they called ladybugs? Aren't their boybugs?
Bugscope TeamThe name "ladybird" originated in the Middle Ages when the insects were known as the "beetle of Our Lady". They were named after The Virgin Mary, who in early religious paintings was often shown wearing a red cloak.
- Teachererr there..
- Bugscope Teamthey are sometimes called ladybirds, as well
- Bugscope Teamladybugs are also called lady beetles and ladybirds
- Bugscope TeamAccording to one source, Lady Bugs got their name from the Virgin Mary when European farmers in the Middle Ages prayed for relief from the pests eating their crops and then the ladybugs came and ate the pests
- TeacherThanks!
- Bugscope Teamand it is hard to tell, in many insects, the boys from the girls
- TeacherWhat is a palp?
Bugscope Teamthey are like little legs by the mouth that are used to manipulate and taste food
- Bugscope Teamthese are similar to the tastebuds you have on your tongue
- Bugscope Teamleading to "The Beetles of Our Lady", and then just ladybug
- Bugscope Teama palp is an extra appendage that assists with feeding, usually coming in pairs
- Bugscope Teamthis is the very tip of one of the palps, so from being so close you cannot tell that it looks much like a tiny arm or leg
- 11:07 am
- Bugscope Teamthese are tenent setae, used to help the insect stick to walls
- Bugscope Teamdo you recognize this?
- TeacherYes
- Bugscope Teamit's not an insect, but a crustacean
- Bugscope Teamlike a crab
- Bugscope Teamthey have gills, but we are not sure what they look like
- Teachernest
- Teacherneat
- Bugscope Teaminsects always have six legs, and they always have three major body parts: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen
- 11:13 am
- Bugscope Teamrolypolies have quite a few extra legs, for starters, and they have more body parts
- Bugscope Teamthey are called 'isopods' because their legs all look the same. like an isosceles triangle in which all the sides are the same length and all of the angles are the same.
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the flea's eyespot here, and its mouthparts]
- Bugscope Teamhere is a little flea from a dog
- Bugscope Teamit is very flat, and it has large and powerful back legs, like a jackrabbit
- Bugscope Teamthis is the large beetle you sent
- Bugscope Teamwe were surprised at its 'hairiness' -- all of the sensory setae on and around its head
- 11:18 am
- Bugscope Teamyou can see its antennae quite well. the clubbed ends are lamellated -- they are stacked like a submarine sandwich
- TeacherIt looked kind of hairy which is why I decided to send it. However, I didn't see ALL of the setae.
- Bugscope Teamclaw!
- TeacherThe Claw!
- Bugscope Teamthis preset had moved since we saved it
- Bugscope Teamso we just now repositioned the sample in the microscope
- Bugscope Teamthese are like tiny tastebuds at the tip of the palp
- 11:24 am
- Bugscope Teamlots of palps today!
- Bugscope Teamso cute and lovely..
- Bugscope Teamthis is what a ladybug looks like when it is younger, before it becomes an adult
- Bugscope Teamand this is a weevil!
- Bugscope Teamwe are looking right at the jaws
- Bugscope Teamthe mandibles
- Bugscope Teamweevils are sometimes called 'snout beetles,'
- Bugscope TeamReminds me of James Bond
- Bugscope Teamhuh like Sean Connery?
- Bugscope TeamThe mandibles looked like Jaws' mouth
- Bugscope TeamRichard Kiel
- Bugscope Teamwe are looking at mold spores...
- 11:29 am
- TeacherI described to my class what mold spores were.
- Bugscope Teamthis is a closeup view of a single scale from the wing of a moth
- Teachercool
- Bugscope Teama scale is analogous to a feather
- Bugscope Teamthey are what make a butterfly or moth's wings feel so soft
- Bugscope Teamif your body was covered with scales and you flew into a spiderweb -- just sayin' -- you might be able to slip out by leaving the powdery scales caught in the web while you got away
- Bugscope Teamthis is the head of the moth!
- 11:34 am
- Bugscope Teamsee its proboscis, all coiled up?
- Bugscope Teamand we can see its palps as well as, in the background, its antennae
- TeacherYes, guess this one didn't need to suck any bug juice up. :)
Bugscope Teamit's not going to pierce any other critters with its proboscis]
- Bugscope Teamplus of course its compound eyes
- Bugscope Teamwhen a moth or butterfly wants to extend its proboscis, it forces hemolymph -- the fluid inside of its body -- into the proboscis and makes it roll out like one of those party favors at New Years'
- TeacherWell, ScotJ, cate, Chaos, thank you for preparing the slides today for my class. We really learned alot and enjoyed looking at the bugs and crustaceans. A really positive experience .
- Bugscope TeamThank You!
- Bugscope Teamyou're welcome! you can visit your member page at any time to look over the images captured form today's session
- Bugscope Teamhttp://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2010-004/
- TeacherThanks!
- GuestThank you all for letting me sit in. We are excited about our upcoming session!
- Bugscope TeamSherri if you would like to drive let us know.
- Bugscope Teamwe just gave you control
- TeacherGlad you enjoyed it Sherri
- 11:39 am
- TeacherBye guys!
- GuestOh, okay!
- Bugscope TeamSherri you should see more things on your web page than previously...
- Bugscope Teamand we should say that all Bugscope sessions are different.
- GuestThank you so much!
- Bugscope TeamIf you have a roomful of computers -- like a computer lab -- you can have your students log in and communicate with us directly.
- Bugscope Teamwe can even confer control of the microscope to students, if you wish
- Bugscope Teamone at a time, of course
- Bugscope Teamthis is the coiled-up proboscis, and to the left is one of the palps, with some of the scales missing
- Bugscope TeamSherri you can also select from any of the presets on the right side of the chat box. Clicking on one of those will take you to that place on the stub.