MacArthur Fundamental School
Session 2010-054

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Transcript

Connected on 2010-05-27 20:00:00 from Santa Ana, CA, US

• 7:10 pm
• Bugscope TeamHello! Welcome to Bugscope!
• Bugscope TeamI am just pumping down, just getting ready to set up.
• Teacherhi, we will be starting at 6:00pm and we were just connecting to make sure we get a picture
• Bugscope TeamThis is the inside of the vacuum chamber, and you can see the insects on the stub.
• TeacherGreat! I'm just going to turn on the student computers and get the classroom ready
• Bugscope Teamso you should be able to see the CCD view of the chamber, until we switch to the secondary electron detector, and you should see the controls, and the chatbox, etc.
• Bugscope Teamtotally cool
• Bugscope Teamthe star next to papke indicates that you have control of the microscope, one we unlock the session.
• Bugscope Teamduh *once* we unlock the session
• Teacherthanks ... I'll get the other computers set up and talk with you in a little while
• 7:18 pm
• Teachersue: Hello, Scott ... We are so excited to be doing this. Thank you for giving us your evening.
• Bugscope TeamWe are excited as well. This should be fun.
• Bugscope TeamIt'll take a little while for the sample to pump down.
• Bugscope TeamBut it's moving along. Then we'll make presets. There's a millipede, a centipede, an ant named Anthony, a large beetle that might be the cause of us having to wait a little longer, a hornet, mosquito, some salt, a moth...
• 7:25 pm
• Bugscope Teamsry about beetle
• Bugscope TeamI'm going to take the beetle out because it is not behaving...
• 7:31 pm
• Bugscope Teamokay we took the centipede out....
• Bugscope Teamseems to be coming down nicely
• 7:51 pm
• Bugscope TeamSue we were having vacuum problems and just switched to a different sample.
• Bugscope Teamso we are running a bit late but will be able to pick up pretty quickly once this gets pumped down
• Bugscope Teamnow we have switched to the secondary electron detector...
• TeacherScott, I haven't done this before (I think someone was supposed to come help). It looks pretty straight forward, but feel free to make any suggestions about anything ... won't hurt my feelings ...
• Teachercool image just came up .... looks like everything is working here
• Bugscope TeamIf anything gets stuck during the demo, hitting the refresh button is the nearly universal solution
• Bugscope TeamScott looks like he's busy tweaking the 'scope and will be setting up presets soon
• 7:57 pm
• Bugscope Team"Presets" will show up in the lower-right. These are pre-defined locations and magnifications which highlight interesting parts of the sample

• Bugscope TeamThey are good starting places, from which you can explore and navigate away from, zoom out and see in context, etc.

• Bugscope TeamYou'll probably want to give the controls a quick go to get familiar with the "Click to Center" navigation, mag, focus, etc
• Bugscope Team... once Scott finishes making the presets

• Bugscope TeamFor a good demo I'd recommend starting at the presets, then zooming out to see them in context, then zooming in while using 'click to center' to move towards an area of interest. Once you start getting zoomed in enough that the image appears blurry you'll want to use the 'Focus' control and experiment with the + and - buttons to see which looks like it's making the image less fuzzy

• 8:02 pm

• Teacher what is this

• Bugscope Teamthis is the beetle's claw
• Bugscope TeamSue do you have a class there now?
• Teacherwhat is this insect???
• Bugscope TeamAre you going to be able to log students into computers so they can ask us questions?
• Bugscope Teamthis is a beetle
• Teacherso

• 8:08 pm

• TeacherPeople are starting to come in, so we should be ready to start in a couple minutes
• Bugscope Teamgreat!
• TeacherI copied the URL to all my classroom computers.... it looks like we are all logged in as me .... hope that works

• Bugscope TeamThat might cause problems actually, some things may not show up for all the computers. It would be better to log in again from each. You can use the same password, or simply login as a student or guest (it doesn't really matter)
• Teacherwhat type of bug is this?
• Teacherwhat is this insect?

• Teacheris it a bug
• Teacherwhat is that?
• Bugscope Teamand we are looking at the haltere
• Bugscope Teamyou can login from here: http://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/live/
• Bugscope Teamthe haltere is a modified hindwing that balances the motion of the two wings in flight
• TeacherWhat is the color of this bug
• Teacher what is this
• Teacherwhat is this?
• Bugscope Teamthe mosquito is a fly -- it has two wings. plus the halteres
• Bugscope Teamthe original color was light brown

• Teacherwhat is this?
• TeacherThe kids are going to start asking questions
• Teacherwhat is this
• Teacherwhat is this
• 8:13 pm
• Bugscope TeamNot sure on the color, we would have had to have noted that ahead of time. Because the electron microscope is using electrons to image instead of light, it doesn't capture color information like we're used to
• Teacherwhat is this?

• Bugscope Teamnow you can see into one of the spiracles, through which mosquitoes breathe
• Teacherwhat is this one?
• Bugscope Teamand this is one of the antennae - the base of it
• Bugscope Teamyou can take the mag down lower to see where you are
• TeacherWhat is this
• Teacherwhat bug is this
• Bugscope Teamyou have control of the microscope and can drive it; one of the things you can do is change the magnification to see where you are
• Teachercan we ask ??
  Bugscope Teamyes you can
• Bugscope Teamthis is part of a mosquito
• Teacherwhat kind of animal
  Bugscope Teamthis is a mosquito
• Teacherquestions??

• TeacherWhat is this?

• Bugscope Teamthere Cool!

• Teachercan it have babies?
  Bugscope Teamthey have babies in the form of eggs that they lay in water
• Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a mosquito
• Bugscope TeamWe're seeing an antenna which is surrounded by a somewhat deflated compound eye
• Teacherwhat color is this bug
• Teacherthat is soo cool!!

• Bugscope Teamnow you can see its body

• Teacherhow do they make them?

• Bugscope Teamand you can see that it had a pin through its thorax

• Teacherwhat is that?

• TeacherWhat part of the mosquito's body is that?
  Bugscope Teamthis is the head in the middle

• Teacherwhat part is this?
• Bugscope Teamall of the little round things are the ommatidia -- the facets of the eye
• Bugscope TeamThe long straight line is a pin, you can see where it's pierced the body

• Bugscope TeamThe head is in the center of the image

• Teacherhow come you aren't answering MY questions, i asked how do they make babies?
  Bugscope TeamMosquitos have sexual reproduction just like most metazoan animals (animals with more than one cell).
  Bugscope Teamthey breed in the air, and the female lays the eggs after she gets a blood meal
• Teacherwhat is that animal

• 8:18 pm

• Teacherwhat this
  Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a mosquto

• Bugscope Teammosquito

• Teacherthis is cool!
• Bugscope Teamthis is the wing
• Bugscope Teamand you can see rows of scales

• Teacherdoes its body contain small hairs or something?
  Bugscope Teamyes it does
• Teacherhow come they are so hairy??
  Bugscope TeamInsects wear their skeletons on the outside of their bodies (sort of like a knight in a suit of armor). They have hairs that stick through their exoskeletons and connect to their nervous system. The hairs help them to sense their environment.
• Teacherhow many eyes do mosquitos have
  Bugscope Teamthey have 2 compound eyes, but those compound eyes have many facets (like a diamond) each called an ommatium (plural is ommatidia) and those are too many for us to count
  Bugscope Teamthey have hundreds of eye facets
• Bugscope Teamand now we see tiny setae called microsetae

• Teacherwhat do you call their pee-pee part?
  Bugscope Teamthe aedeagus
• Bugscope TeamYes, most insects are actually quite hairy, although we often can't see them with our eyes alone because they're too small. The hairs are called "setae"
• TeacherWhat is this?
  Bugscope Teamthis is salt from wendy's fast food restaurant
• Teacherhow long is the
• Teacherwhat bug is this
  Bugscope Teamthis is now salt
• Bugscope Teamnot a bug here!
• Teacherwhere does it lay it's egg
  Bugscope Teamin calm water, like in the bole of a tree or a discarded tire or in a cup even
• Teacherhow many years this bug lives
  Bugscope TeamMost mosquitoes will live only a few weeks, although some can overwinter as adults in humid places like sewers and storm drains.
• Teacherdoes this help them survive
• TeacherWhat do mosquitos eat?
  Bugscope Teamthe females drink blood, most of them, and the males drink nectar, like sugar water, from flowers
  Bugscope Teamfemales consume blood and the males often dont eat anything
• Bugscope TeamFemale mosquitos are the ones that suck your blood, they need it to have lots of nutrients in order to develop and lay their eggs
• Teacherare you the insects small from where you are seeing them??
  Bugscope Teamthe insects are fairly small -- they all fit on a 1.75-in. diameter stub
• Teacherwhat does it eat

• 8:23 pm

• Teacherwhat are they eat?

• Teacherare this live bugs
  Bugscope Teamno these are all dead in the microscope. Thankfully. I, unlike annie, am not a fan of live insects

• Teacherdo ants bite you and how?
  Bugscope TeamAnts can bite and some can also sting, just like a wasp. They bite you with their mouths, they have big jaws.
• Teacherdoes it bite
  Bugscope Teamthis might bite but it would feel like a tiny pinch
• Bugscope TeamNo, these bugs are all dead. They have to dry out before we can image them because these samples are actually in a vacuum chamber.

• Teacherhow many times does this mosquito lay eggs
  Bugscope TeamShe lays a raft of eggs every time she gets a full blood meal.

• Bugscope Teamthis is one of the claws
• Teacherare there any poisonous ants?
  Bugscope TeamMany people have allergic reactions to ant stings. It seems that the more you are exposed to ant stings, the more sensitive you get. Out here in California we have harvester ants...the big red ants that you see in sandy places. People can develop very serious allergies if they get bit repeatedly.
• Bugscope TeamYes, ants have large jaws called mandibles. They can use these to pinch you, but some also have a stinger with a chemical that irritates the skin
• Teacherdo you feel when mosquitos bite??
  Bugscope Teamno you dont feel when their mouthparts stab you, but you do feel the anticoagulant they put in you to keep your blood flowing. The anticoagulant is itchy
• Teacherthey look like a fly?
  Bugscope Teamthey are flies, but they look like long skinny flies
• Bugscope TeamYes, the bullet ant is named so because the sting feels as bad as getting shot

• Teacheris this a beetle
  Bugscope Teamyes it is!
• Teacherwhat is this?
• Teacheris there any poisones kinds?
  Bugscope TeamThere are beetles that produce compounds that can cause blisters--those are called blister beetles. There are other kinds that might be harmful if you ate a bunch of them...but generally beetles are not poisonous.
• Teachercan it be so severe that it can kill a person?

• Bugscope TeamYou don't actually feel the mosquito bite because it injects you with an anesthetic, but the anticoagulant they use to keep your blood from clotting causes an allergic reaction which is what itches

• TeacherWhat type of beetle is this, and do beetles bite?

• Teacherdoes it hurt when they bite
  Bugscope Teambeetles can bite and they can hurt. Japanese beetles will often bite us, making them very annoying

• Teacherwhat is the longest life span of a ant
• Teachercan these insects kill people??
  Bugscope Teammost of them cannot, unless you are allergic to them
• Bugscope TeamSome ant bites which are harmless to most people can kill others who have a severe allergic reaction. Those people usually have to carry an "epipen" which contains a needle with medicine that counteracts the allergic reaction
• Teacherca you show us a centipe
  Bugscope TeamI don't think there are any centipedes on this stub, I'm sorry.

• Bugscope Teambut mosquitoes can indeed give you diseases that could kill you
• 8:28 pm
• Teacherwhy do they have pinchers?

• TeacherDo beetles have skeletons as the mosquito does?
  Bugscope Teamthey have their skeleton on the outside -- it's called an 'exoskeleton.'

• Teachercan you eat types of beetles if so what kind?
  Bugscope TeamIn many parts of the world insects are an important source of protein. People mostly eat beetles when they are in their immature stage--i.e. when they are grubs. People eat woodboring beetles, and weevil larvae, and mealworms (which are beetles).
• Bugscope TeamYes, beetles can bite with their mandibles, just like ants. Some beetles have huge elaborate mandibles, a couple inches in size. In some countries they actually let 2 beetles fight with their giant mandibles and bet on who wins
• Teacherwe are looking at the spiracle .... what is that?
• Teacherdo you only study insects??
  Bugscope Teamno we work with people who study small things that they have made, as well as plants, and bacteria, and geological samples. etc....
• Bugscope TeamYes, beetles have exoskeletons just like a mosquito, but they don't have scales attached to them like mosquitoes
• Bugscope Teamsorry the previous sample that was in the scope did have a centipede and a millipede, but there was an uncooperative insect that was causing problems with the vacuum so we had to take them all out
• Teacherthank you
• TeacherThank you for willingly sparing your time to share with us. :)
  Bugscope Teamthank you!
• Teacherthank you very much !!!!
• Teachertank you
• Teacherthis is super cool and thank you
• TeacherTHANK YOU! i am very grateful that you were able to show us this! :)
• Bugscope TeamAnnie primarily studies insects because she is an Entomologist, but the rest of us work with users from all over the university to study nanoparticle, cells, rocks, etc
• Bugscope TeamSue! Are you there?
• Bugscope TeamThank you for your good questions
• Teacheryour welcome! :)
• Bugscope TeamIt would be good before the next students come in if you would log the kids in as students on each of their computers.
• Bugscope TeamHi Joe!
• Bugscope TeamJoe are you working with Sue?
• Bugscope TeamWow, is that a spiracle we're looking into? A neat striated texture in there
• Bugscope Teamthat is the inside of the trachea
• Bugscope Teamwith a scale in it
• 8:33 pm
• TeacherI'm getting a new group and I'm making them log in .... So only one of us will be controlling things

• TeacherI think I get how it works now .... thanks
• Bugscope Teamtotally cool
• Studentwhat is this
• Studenthey
  Bugscope TeamHi Jacqueline!
• TeacherWe are introducing you to the next group
• Bugscope TeamPapke: We can transfer control to any of the users logged in, but only one will be able to control at a time
• Bugscope Teamthis is a deerfly with slashing mouthparts
• Bugscope Teamjust ask if you'd like to give control to someone
• Bugscope TeamHi guys, welcome to Bugscope!

• Studentwat insect is this
• Studentwhat type of bug is this
  Bugscope Teamthis is a deerfly

• Studentfly
• Bugscope TeamThis is a haltere, a modified wing which bounces back and forth as the real wings move and acts like a gyroscope to help the insect fly in a straight path

• Studentwhat type of insect is this??
  Bugscope Teamthis is a fly

• Studenthi

• Bugscope TeamThe magnified images are from a scanning electron microscope which bounces a stream of electrons (the particles responsible for electricity) off the sample to form images

• 8:38 pm

• Studentdo flies have good eye sight?
• Bugscope TeamBecause electrons are much smaller than light waves, we can magnify many times higher than with a light microscope

• Studenthow many of those eye scales are there?
• Studenthow do you run this microscope??
  Bugscope Teamthe microscope is large and has its own room, its own water, power, air, nitrogen...

• GuestAre insects full of diseases?
  Bugscope TeamMosquitoes are among the most serious vectors of disease in the world. Fleas transmit bubonic plague, lice cause a type of typhus--and ticks (which are not insects) can transmit a number of diseases. But, really, most insects do not transmit diseases.
• Bugscope TeamYes, flies have very advanced compound eyes which are excellent at detecting motion

• Studenthi i was wondering how can flies see so much if there eyes are so small ?
  Bugscope Teamcompared to the rest of its body, the eyes are huge! LIke how a baby's head is so big compared to the rest of the body

• Studentcan you please show us his mouth?

• StudentWhat is this?

• Bugscope TeamThis microscope is controlled entirely by computer. We use the keyboard and mouse to control the electronics of the microscope and the images are displayed on the screen

• Studentwhat was your favorite kind of insect you disect
  Bugscope TeamI like weevils, but not to dissect

• Bugscope Teamand we put the samples into it
• Studentwhat is in the mouth?

• GuestCan we see their brain???
  Bugscope Teamyou could, but we don't have any broken open
• Studentwhy do flies have such a quick reaction
  Bugscope Teampartly because they can see you so well
• StudentHow many diseases does a mosquito have?

• Guestdo insects have good eye sight
  Bugscope Teamsome do and some do not; often they do not see the same colors we do
• Studentcan we see the heart
  Bugscope TeamWe will not be able to see the heart of the insect. We are only looking at the outside.
• Studentwhat is the most harmless insect?
• Studentwhat do the flies feed from?
• Studentcan we see the heart?
• Studentwhat was in the mouth?
• GuestCan we see samples of other insects???

• Bugscope TeamSome insects have excellent eyesight (have you ever tried to hit a fly with your hand?), and some, especially those that live under ground, have extremely poor eyesight
• GuestHow do mosquitos ay their eggs
  Bugscope TeamThe females have an ovipositor--a tube that is connected to her reproductive system. The eggs pass through that tube.
• Studentis it possible for flies to loose thier hair
  Bugscope Teamthey can be scraped off
• Studenthow small is their brain
• Studentwhat if I am right behind the fly, would they still have a quick reaction
  Bugscope Teambecause they have compound eyes as well as ocelli -- simple eyes -- they can see when you are behind them
• Studentwhat was the weirdest insect you seen
• Studenthow long do insects live?
• Studenthow many years can it live for?
• StudentWHAT ARE THE WHITE DOTS ALL OVER THE HEAD?
• Bugscope TeamHow long insects live varies *greatly* across species. Some live less than a day, some live for years
• Studenthow do you know if a insect have a disease
  Bugscope TeamThere is not a good way to tell just by looking at it. Mostly you have to squish it up and test its for the presence of the DNA of the disease-causing organism (like a virus or a protozoan()
• 8:44 pm
• Studentdo flies sometimes eat their ofspring
  Bugscope TeamI would say it is unlikely in flies because they typically have mouthparts that are adapted for sucking liquids. It would be hard for them to eat their offspring unless their offspring became liquidy.
• Studentant??? dang
• Guestdo flys have strong feet to keep them selves up
• GuestWhat is that in the mouth
  Bugscope Teamwhat looks like something sticking out of the mouth are the huge jaws of the trapjaw ant
• Bugscope Teamthe very biggest insect is a lobster
  Bugscope TeamScott!
• Studenthow many babies can it have?
  Bugscope TeamIt depends. A mosquito can lay several hundred eggs each time it gets a full blood meal.
• Studentif the mosquito has a disease cold it give it to the human body?
  Bugscope Teamyes it can

• Studentlot*
• Bugscope TeamMany flies actually have pads full of hairs with sticky tips that help them hold onto walls and ceilings, etc
• GuestAre mosquitos bad or good like if they bite you
  Bugscope TeamI think the consensus is that mosquitoes are bad dudes.
• Studenthow long does a fly live?
  Bugscope TeamIt depends on the fly. There are over 100 000 species of flies. Some live a few days or a few weeks. Some have multi-year life cycles.

• Studenti think for a few weeks
• Studenthow do you know which insects are girls or boys?
  Bugscope Teamsometimes you can tell easily, like by size of by whether they have a stinger or ovipositor, and sometimes there is not way to tell from outside
• Studentwhat type of beetle is poisenous
• Studentare ant able to survive without their heads
• StudentPeople say that dragonflies live for only 24 hours. Is this true?
• Studentso if it bit a person with hiv could it give it to me?

• Studentit's so small
• Studentdo insects sleep
• Bugscope TeamDetermining whether insects are male or female can be very difficult in some cases. Sometimes researchers don't know until they dissect the insect and examine the genitalia under a microscope
• Studentwhat are the white dots all over?
• StudentWhat are the white dots around the body?
• Guestare lobsters insects
  Bugscope Teamno they are crustaceans, but the roly poly, which we often think of as insects are crustaceans!
• Studentdo insects ever sleep?
  Bugscope TeamYes but not like we do. They enter a stage of immobility called torpor, much like fish

• Bugscope TeamThe white dots are actually bubbles in the double-sided tape used to hold the insect specimens in place
• StudentWhere do flys lay their eggs?
  Bugscope TeamAgain, it depends on the fly. Some flies lay their eggs in grody things like dead bodies, poop, rotting food, garbage. Other flies lay their eggs in water or on plants or in soil. There are a lot of flies, so some fly probably lays its eggs on almost anything you can think of.
• Bugscope TeamDifferent flies lay eggs in different places. Some lay eggs on the undersides of plant leaves
• Studenthow long do insects live?
• Studenthow many insects do you study a day?
• Studentfew weeks

• Bugscope TeamSome flies lay their eggs on or under the skin of dead animals
• Studentstudy???
• Studentwhat disease could it give the human?
  Bugscope Teamyellow fever, malaria, west nile virus...
• Studentwhat kind of deases do insects have and die from or sickness ?
• Studentthe queen ant can only lay eggs right?
• Bugscope Teamthere are some mosquitoes that do not bite people or drink blood
• Studentcan we see spiders?
• StudentDo any insects have their own reproductive system?

• GuestCan we see a dragon fly???
  Bugscope TeamJulian I am sorry we do not have one today.
• Guestcould we eat insects like crickets with chocolate cause i see people sell them
  Bugscope TeamYou can if you want. They will not hurt you. I don't particularly care for insects, because they taste like dirt to me. I prefer eating other things.
• Studentcan a mosquito kill you
• 8:49 pm
• Bugscope TeamYes, insects all (nearly all?) have reproductive systems
• Studentcan a insect have a deadly disease like the h1n1 virus
  Bugscope TeamInsects get sick just like people and dogs and chickens do. I actually took a class in graduate school called "Insect Pathology" where we took four months studying the diseases of insects. There are viruses, bacteria, fungi, nemtodes all that infect only insects.
• StudentWhat is your favorite insect?
• Studentyeah what is it
• Bugscope Teamyou are looking at insects on a stub that is inside a scanning electron microscope
• Bugscope TeamYes, it's safe to eat many kinds of insects, but it's best to only eat the ones that were raised for consumption so you know they've eaten clean food and not gotten into anything toxic
• TeacherIt's not letting me move the image
• Guestso can we
• StudentIs the west nile virus truly that bad?
• Studenthow are ants harmful?
  Bugscope TeamAnts are generally helpful. However, in the jungle some ants with nasty bites cause harm if a person accidentally invades their space
• Studentdo flies have heart beats like a human?

• StudentDo insects have a defense like venom?
  Bugscope Teammany insects have a variety of defenses against ants, including toxic chemicals
• Studentwhich of the insects is the most dangerous?
  Bugscope Teamthe mosquito is the deadliest
• Studentwhy are insects so small?
  Bugscope TeamOne reason why insects are limited in size is that their breathing system is much simpler than mammals and much less efficient, meaning they wouldn't be able to breath enough if they got significantly larger
• Guestdo insects live for a long time
  Bugscope Teamsome do, but not always as adults -- like 17-year locusts

• Studenthow good is ants vision?
  Bugscope Teamnot very good, some dont even have eyes. They spend so much time underground they dont rely on their eyes, their rely on their antennae
• Studentwats the most deadliest insect
  Bugscope TeamMosquitoes for sure!
• StudentWhy do bees die if hey lose a stinger?
  Bugscope Teamwhen the stinger comes out it has a little pump on it like an outboard motor, and that leaves a big hole in the body, so the bee loses all of its hemolymph and dies, like bleeding to death
• Studentmy dad ate a cricket ... 'tasted like french fries" (he fried it?)
  Bugscope TeamHahah
• TeacherThis group is asking better (and funnier) questions
• Studentwhat*
• Studentwhy are the red ants harmful
  Bugscope TeamWell, those red ants that we have out here in southern California are actually very helpful--despite the fact that they bite. The are responsible for planting the seeds of our native plants and wildflowers and they are the only food of some of our native lizzards--like the horned toads. Red ants are our friends!
• StudentWhat is the biggest insect?
• Studentwith what could you fight it back or is there any medicine?
• Guestare the eggs small
• Studentwhy do people eat bugs, because bugs don't eat people
• Studentthe bugs are small the eggs are small

• Studenthow small is their poop?
  Bugscope Teamdifferent sizes, of course. it is called 'frass,' and of course 'flyspecks.'
• GuestCan i eat crickets??? when im in the woods lost???
• StudentWhat otherr kind of microscopes do you use at the lab
  Bugscope TeamWe have another kind of electron microscope called a transmission electron microscope, a lot of different light microscopes, an atomic force microscope
• Studentdo insects pee
  Bugscope TeamYes, sort of. They mostly have solid waste because in most insects water is too valuable to be eliminated. Most insect "pee" looks like bird droppings.
• StudentAre there any ants that can shoot acid from it's body?
  Bugscope TeamBen yes there are. Often it is formic acid. Which horned toads need as a nutrient.
• Studenthow long have you guys been studying insects?
  Bugscope Teamive been doing bugscope for about 5 years, but I never studied them like annie did
• Studentcan insects cry?
  Bugscope TeamNo, insects don't have tear ducts or glands, so they can't produce tears. They have to use their arms to wipe their eyes clean if they get dirty
• Studenthow many eggs does a flay put ?
• GuestAre insects smart???

• Guestwhen your in the woods can u eat which ever insect
  Bugscope TeamI wouldn't recommend eating just any insect, some can be poisonous.
• StudentHow do insects eat?
• 8:54 pm
• Studentwere do they leave their eggs?
• Studentcan flies pee while flying
  Bugscope Teamthey are more likely to poop, to conserve liquids.
• StudentDo insects get sick?
• Studenthow long have you studied insects annie
  Bugscope TeamI have been studying insects exclusively since 2003 (when I started graduate school). But, I have always liked them :)
• Studentare insects good to eat
• Studentcan they fart
  Bugscope TeamTermites definitely "fart"
• Studentwhat are ants composed of
  Bugscope TeamThe exoskeleton is made of chitin, similar to the material our fingernails are made of.
• Studentdo insects have feelings
• Guest are scorpionas insects
  Bugscope TeamNope--they are arachnids, more closer to a spider than a cricket!
• StudentHave you guys always wanted to study insects?
  Bugscope TeamI always liked being outdoors and capturing creatures, but I didn't want to be an entomologist until I was in high school.
• Studentdo flies have heart beat?
  Bugscope TeamFlies don't have well-developed circulatory systems like mammals. Instead they have a tube-like structure which does pump some of the hemolymph onto the brain

• Studentwhat insect can you eat and what insect can you not eat?
• GuestCould flies eat rotten food
  Bugscope TeamYum yum, it is the favorite food of many insects.
• Studentso chitin is their protective shell?
  Bugscope Teamyes it is
• Studentdo insects have bones?
  Bugscope TeamNope, they have exoskeletons--which are hollow tubes. They wear their exoskeleton on the outside and all of their muscles and organs are inside the exoskeleton.
• StudentIs dissecting bugs the major thing that is done in this lab
  Bugscope Teamno we don't work with insects as much as a number of other things: materials, biomaterials, and other biological samples
• Student;]
• Guestdo you like flies
  Bugscope TeamI actually really dislike flies. They are my least favorite insect order.
• Studentdo insects eat all other insects
  Bugscope TeamYes, many of them do

• Studenthow do you know if an insect has poison?

• Studentis a scorpion an insect?
  Bugscope Teamno it is not
• Studentdo you need to have a masters degree in this job?
  Bugscope Teamannie has a phd, but I only have a bachelor
• Guestwhat is the most deadliest spider of all.
  Bugscope TeamI guess that would be the Sydney funnel web--from Australia.
• Studentdo fles beat up other flies
  Bugscope TeamFlies will eat other flies. That is the ultimate beat up.
• Studentwhat is the largest or like tallest insect in the world?
• Guestdo flies have blood
  Bugscope TeamInsects have a fluid called hemolymph which helps circulate nutrients like our blood, but it lacks hemoglobin to carry oxygen (so it's not red like our blood)
• Studentwhere did you do for graduate school
  Bugscope TeamI went to the University of Illinois for graduate school. Now I am a post-doc at UC Riverside--just over the hill from you guys.
• Studentare a lot of insects cannibals?
• Studentwere do they leave their eggs
• Studenthow do you now if it is a boy?

• GuestIs it fun to study about insects???
• StudentHave they recently discovered new insects?
  Bugscope TeamYes, they're discovering new species all the time. Most of the new species are discovered in jungles and other remote areas
• StudentSo then you do study the human body
• Studenthow do you call the study of ants
  Bugscope TeamMyrmecology!
• Bugscope Teamscorpions are more closely related to spiders
• Guestwho do u think would win a fly or a mosquito
• Studenthow can ants defend
  Bugscope Teamthey can bite, sting, spray formic acid
• Studentdo flies have a heart
• Studentdo ants have blood
• 8:59 pm
• Studentwhich is better eating a cricket raw or cooked
  Bugscope TeamCooked..doesn't move around so much
• Studentwhat color is an insect's blood?
• Guestare flies hairy like spiders
• StudentHow do they name the new insects?
  Bugscope TeamSometimes new insects are named after the place it was first found, like Prionus californicus, the California root borer. Other insects are named after how they look--and it is usually a Latin description of somehting like a like or a color. Other times people name new species after people that they know or people who have helped them. My collaborator and I are going to name a beetle after our friend--it will be Euderces streiti.
• Studentthanks
• StudentThank You
• Studentthank you

• StudentWhat universities did you attend to earn this degree,
  Bugscope TeamI got my bachelor's at Macalester College, and my Master's here at the University of Illinois
• StudentThank You scientists
• Studentwhat is the harriest insect
• StudentThank YOU.
• Studentthank you Mr. Sir
• StudentThank you , for your cooperation
• Studentthank you for taking your time and answering our questions
• StudentThank You !!!
• Studentthank you for giving information about insects.!.!. :]
• StudentAustralia*
• GuestTHANK YOU NICE JOB!
• GuestThank you!!! i have to go have fun with insects
• Studentthank you for answering my questions it was fun!
• Studenthave to go bye
• Bugscope TeamThanks for joining everyone!
• StudentTHANK YOU for being with us bye
• StudentTHANK YOU VERY MUCH it was fun
• GuestI LOVE INSECCTS BYE
• Student:]
• TeacherWe have a new group coming in
• Teacher.... last one
• Bugscope TeamWe're ready :)

• Teacheryou guys must get CRAZY questions all the time ... thanks
  Bugscope Teammakes it more fun
• TeacherThese groups are junior high kids .... and their brothers and/or sisters
  Bugscope TeamYou know what, I am always happy to answer "gross" questions...if the kids are curious I am happy to supply the answers.
• 9:05 pm
• Studentfor what
• Bugscope TeamNot that junior high students are the only ones who ask "gross" questions.... :)
• Studentwoah what is this ?
  Bugscope Teamthis is the edge of the fang of a spider

• Bugscope TeamYou're seeing live images coming from a scanning electron microscope here at the University of Illinois
• StudentIs it a dust mite

• Studenthow fast are the ants

• Studentahhhh;;is this a spider??
  Bugscope Teamyes it is

• Studentdo you have slides of scorpions?
  Bugscope Teamsometimes we will put scorpion claws or stingers in the microscope
• Studentyep
• Studentyup

• Studentwhats the biggest worm?
  Bugscope Teamsome kind of nightcrawler?

• StudentWoah, do you do this all the time
• Bugscope TeamThese aren't just slides, you're actually sending commands to an electron microscope which is sending back images in real time

• Studentthat is so cool, wut is that??
• Studentwhat is it

• Bugscope Teamthe biggest worm is likely a marine worm, not sure
• Studentrony u suck
• Studentare they ponsion

• Studentha ha

• StudentThis is a cool picture

• Studentwat r those bumps?
• StudentI like bugs ^^
• Studentnice

• Studentyou suck tota

• StudentWoah is that leg squished and flat?
  Bugscope TeamSometimes the samples have gotten a little beat-up, or they shrivel when they dry out

• Studentwhat is the picture
• Studentyou suck

• StudentEEWWWW hairy legs =D lol funny
• Studentwhats the most dangerous spider?
  Bugscope Teamthere are some very poisonous spiders in South America and in the Tropics
• Studentwhat kind of spider ? black widow ?

• Bugscope Teamthese are live images from the scanning electron microscope, so all we can see today is what we put in
• Student no
• Studentwhy those it have like thorns on it's leg?
  Bugscope TeamIt is hard to know exactly without knowing about the behavior of this insect. Often the spines help to defend the insect or help it to hold onto things.

• Studentdoes*
• Studentoh ok still cool btw

• 9:10 pm

• Studenthmm yh ut right ian why are they
• Studentis that an ant
• Studenttota sucks

• Studentfranky is homo
• Studentwoah!!!

• Studentrodney has a big head
• Studentrony live in africa so watch out for the spiders
• StudentI think I'm going to barf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Studentis that a fly

• Studentsucck tota
• Studentwill the pincers hurt me if it attacks me
  Bugscope TeamMost times the mouthparts are too small to cause damage to people, they'd break before your skin broke, but some can give you a significant pinch
• Studentnever knew spiders were really hairy
  Bugscope Teamsome of the hairs we see are there to help the spider sense its environment by gathering vibrational information. and some of the hairs spiders have are released into the air to irritate animals that are bothering them
• Studenti never knew beetles had alot of hair
  Bugscope Teaminsects are hairier than they seem, but it's needed to help them sense what's going on around them
• Studentcan they kill pepole
  Bugscope TeamMost spiders cannot kill people with healthy immune systems. The most poisonous spiders can cause painful bites and skin lesions, but typically don't kill people.
• Studentoh

• Studentfrank sucks
• Studentwhy are there eyes like thatt??
  Bugscope TeamInsects have compound eyes which is a simpler design than mammalian eyes. It allows them a wider field of view and they require less maintenance (no eyelids, tears, etc)

• Studenteh ugly

• Studentwhere are the spiders mostly located?
• Studenttoata sucks

• Studentrony ur ugly
• Studentthis is fun!
• Studentdo you wish you had compound eyes?
  Bugscope Teamnope....it would make driving hard,
• Studentcan they kill
• Studentdo they have a nose??
  Bugscope TeamMost insects and other arthropods sense smell with hairs--on their antennae, on their mouths or on their feet
• Studentno
• Studenthow big are the ants
• StudentWhat is a mite
  Bugscope Teama mite is a very small arachnid, mostly, that may or may not live on a larger creature
• Studentdo you spiders kill alot of people?
  Bugscope TeamSpiders kill very few people, really.

• Studenthow does the color see thru compounded eyes ? color or black & white ?
  Bugscope TeamIt depends upon the insect/arthropod. Bees can see some color and can also see UV light. Some spiders can also apparently see some colors. Moths that fly at night can only see black and white.
• Studentwhy are they so hairy
  Bugscope TeamBecause they have their skeleton on the outside, they need the hairs to sense touch, temperature, smell, etc

• Studentwhat's in the background of the pictures? are they cells..?
  Bugscope TeamThose are actually just bubbles in the double-sided tape we use to stick the samples down

• Studentnice pinchers

• Studentwhy do they have big eyes
  Bugscope Teamthe eyes help them see in all directions; it is tough being an insect
• Studentdoes that beetle live in america

• Studentwhich spiders are the most poisonousspiders
• Studentdo they have bones??
  Bugscope TeamNo, they have a rigid shell called an exoskeleton which supports their body -- inside they have only soft tissues

• Studenthow long can a beetle be?

• Studentare those two different beaks?

• Studentare they gaint spiers in the tropicas

• 9:15 pm

• Studentare beetles poisonous?
  Bugscope TeamThere is one or two kinds of beetles can can cause chemical burns/blisters. The rest of the beetles are not poisonous--unless you ate a bunch of them, and even then you would just puke, not die.
• Studentwhats a potato bug
  Bugscope TeamIn California, what people call potato bugs are actually a kind of cricket.
• Studentwhat if I'm allergic to mites
• Studenthow long do beetles live?
  Bugscope TeamMost insects live about a year. However, some beetles feed underground or in wood for very long times--20 or more years.
• Bugscope Teamif you had compound eyes you would have very good peripheral vision, it would be hard for you to get sunglasses that fit, it might be hard to get dates, and you would have a better ability to see motion.
• Studentcan they kill humans

• Studentdo they eat eachother??
  Bugscope Teamsome of them do, yes

• StudentIs that what we eat and love?
  Bugscope Teamsalt, yes

• Studentcan they eat humans
• Studentcan that piece of salt kill a slug
  Bugscope Teamit is very small, so it might just get washed away in the slime

• Studentwhy does salt have holes in it
• Studentwhy does it look like a cube??
• StudentWhat do spiders eat the most
• Studentwhy is salt bad for the liver?
• Studentwho invented the salt?
• Studentis that really,really salt
  Bugscope Teamyeah Dude
• Studentwhy does salt dissolve slugs and snails
  Bugscope TeamSalt is bad for slugs and snails because they have moist body surfaces and the salt causes that water to get sucked out of their body
• Studentwhy does salt have holes?
• Studentwhy are the pic's black
  Bugscope Teamwe are seeing live images from the scanning electron microscope, and the images we see are collected in black and white -- actually gray scale -- because they represent the signal from electrons that are ejected from the surface of the samples we are looking at.
• Studentoh
• Studentwhy is slat small

• Studenthow come camel crickets are similar to ants? are they in the same family?
• Studentis that a hole

• Studentwhy is there a hole in it?
• Student how deep is the hole
• StudentAr you a bug?
  Bugscope TeamNot so far as I have been able to tell. I definitely ca't fly and don't have antennae.
• Studentwhy is there a hole in salt

• Studenthow bigs the salt

• Studentwhy are bugs small

• Studenthow many types of salt is there in the world?
• Studentis salt sodium?

• Studentwutt is that??
• Studentis it true that mosquitos can cause death? my aunt told me someone was bit by one and died..
  Bugscope TeamUsually mosquitos can't cause significant harm on their own, but they can spread blood-borne disease from host to host

• Studentwoah

• Studentwho invented the salt?
  Bugscope Teamsomeone figured out how to add an anti-clumping agent to the salt, but we do not know who. salt has been around forever, since before there were people or insects or anything almost

• Studentwhy do they bite people for the blood??
  Bugscope TeamOur blood is full of nutrients which make it a great meal for them
• Studentdo you guys work with fire ants
  Bugscope TeamI don't think we've had anyone bring them into the lab yet, no
• Studentis it dead
• Studentwhere are it's eyes?

• 9:20 pm

• Studenthow did mosquitos come about?
• Studentwhy when they suck your blood it leaves you a little bump
• Studentdo some mosquitos kill that are from africa?
  Bugscope TeamThey are spreading the disease malaria from person to person, it's not actually the mosquito itself that's killing people
• Studentwhy is the mosquito wierd

• Studentdo mosquitos have eyes
  Bugscope Teamyes they do and we can see them if we move to the right place on the mosquito

• Studentcan a certain blood type be harmful to mosquitos?
  Bugscope TeamThat is a good suggestion, but it doesn't happen as far as we know.

• Studentare ants very resistant? if you ever try squishing one or you accidentally step on one, it doesn't die right away
• Studenthow fast can a mosquito go?
• Studentthey look like fethers??!!
  Bugscope Teamscales are very similar to feathers
  Bugscope TeamYes, the scales are very similar to bird feathers
• Studentis that hairs on its legs or what?

• Studentwhy cant mosquitos bite something else instead of us>8l
  Bugscope Teamsome live only on nectar, but very few. most need blood, or the females do.
  Bugscope TeamMosquitoes feed on birds, frogs and lizards, mice, bears...anything that lives on land and has red blood!

• Studentwhat type of mosquitos are these?

• Studentdont they lay their eggs near some water??
  Bugscope Teamyes they do! in the water, even a tiny bit of it

• Student(8l) sighh hate this type of bug

• Studenthow do you distinguish the one that cause malaria or yellow fever vs benign ones?
  Bugscope Teampeople who work with them can tell them by shape and color and how they behave as well

• Studentoh kk ty
• Studentwhat is that
  Bugscope Teamthis is a place on the stub where we took something off.
• Studenthow long can a mosquito live?

• StudentWhat is a ants job
  Bugscope TeamAnts are very important! They take plant seeds of flowers and grasses, they help to decompose dead things, and they are the food of things like horned lizards.
• Studentwhy are the wings transparent
• Studenthow come when mosquitos bite the spot that they bit swollens and itches?
  Bugscope TeamThat's actually due to your body having an allergic reaction to the anticoagulant the mosquito injects so that your blood doesn't clot
• Studentoh okay so the gurls have to lay their eggs on/in the water??
  Bugscope Teamyes they do! that is why when people try to eradicate mosquitoes they make sure there are no places for stagnant water to collect
• Studentare there different types of mosquitos that can kill
• Studentcan a mosquito bite you and not be harmful?
• Studentwhy do they have wings

• Studentthis was fun

• Studentthanks for the information
• Studentwhy do they LOVE blood??
  Bugscope TeamThey don't have a choice. That is what they eat.

• Studenti hope we do this again
• Studentthanks for asking our questions
• Studentwhy thanks, i hope one day i become intelligent as you! ^^
• Studentwhat's your real,birth name

• Studentthis was cool thanks:D
• Studentthanks for the information
• Studentwho made them
• Studentthanks for the info

• StudentThanks a lot for answering all our questions! ^^
• Studentthankx so much 1 day i hope i can be a smart person like u :D and thanx for answering our queestionss
• Studentthanks for the cool/disgusting information
  Bugscope Teamheh, Thanks, Dakota
• Studentis thta the only thinq that they eat??
  Bugscope Teamsome eat nectar, like sugar water, from flowers

• 9:25 pm

• Bugscope TeamYou're welcome, thanks for joining us everyone!

• Studentdo you guys get freaked out htat much?
  Bugscope TeamI jumped once when I thought I'd killed a spider and started looking at it under a light microscope and it started moving again
• Studentwhy dont you answear my quations
• Studentor did you get used to it?
• Studentwhy don't they bite animals instead of us
  Bugscope Teamthey do bite animals too
• Studentthey qive out HIV????
  Bugscope Teamthey are said not to be able to transmit it

• Studentare some of the ants deadly? i watched nat. geo and then it showed these purple ants that just scared the heck out of me
  Bugscope TeamMost ants aren't deadly to people, except some people who have a severe allergic reaction to them. Some of the more powerful ants can kill someone if they swarm them and you get bitten many times

• Studentlike butterflys??

• Studentdo the animals also die if they get bitten?
  Bugscope Teamno they itch like we do, usually
• Studentwhat kind of bug is this
  Bugscope Teamthis now is a female mosquito
• Studentyou guys rock

• Studentbye
• Studentbye thanks bye
• Studentwhats the difference between the female and male mosquito?
• Studentwhere did you stab the mosquito
  Bugscope Teamin the thorax, which is like the chest area
• Studentk g2g bye bye ty so much good info here =D
• Studentty mang
• Bugscope TeamThank You! Bye!
• Studentthanks, bye now
• Studentthanks for those nice pics and the info
• Studentgood nite
• Studentthanks again
• TeacherHey guys ... thanks so much. I think I finally figured out how to work all this by the third session. All the kids are leaving ... ssession over. This was really cool. Thanks
• TeacherI think the kids really lliked it.
• Bugscope TeamGreat, seems like it went really well
• Bugscope TeamYou guys did a great job
• TeacherHave a good night
• Bugscope TeamYou too, bye
• Teacherbye
• Bugscope Teamthe reason mosquitoes do not transmit hepatitis or HIV is because they would have to bite a person with it and then bite another person without it and exchange some of that blood, and that is not likely to happen to the extent that the disease moves from one to the other.
• Bugscope TeamChaos = Scot, Scott
• 9:31 pm
• Bugscope TeamThank You!