Connected on 2011-05-25 09:00:00
from Denver, Colorado, United States
- 9:33 am
- Bugscope Teamwe are ready!
- 9:39 am
- Bugscope Teamhi patrick there is a problem finding your exact session log in.
- Bugscope TeamWill be this ok for now?
- Bugscope Teamthe password should be jessica
- GuestI am in!
- GuestCan you guys see me?
- Bugscope Teamyes i can see you sorry
- 9:44 am
- Bugscope Teami also gave you control of the microscope if you want to try cruising around
- Bugscope Teamyou should be able to click with a single click for the area you want to center, change the mag, focus, or click on the left arrow to jump to another preset
- GuestAwesome. My brother used to run a SEM so he wanted to know how you guys dehydrate your samples, and how you coat them.
Bugscope Teamsome of them have been critical point dried, and others were air dried. We coat them with a thin layer of gold/palladium using a sputter coater.
- GuestShould I instruct my teachers just to login as Guest like me?
Bugscope Teamthey can, or they might have the option of logging in as a student. It doesnt't matter either way
- 9:50 am
- 9:55 am
- GuestWe have a student who wants to know what wasps eat?
Bugscope Teamthat depends, but the common wasp likes to eat garbage, which is why you usually see them buzzing around picnic tables.
Bugscope Teamthere are others that eat spiders and other insects
- GuestAlondra wants to know why they don't have eyelids?
Bugscope Teamthey also don't have eyeballs. Our eyelids help keep out dust/dirt, and help close out light. With insects, if they got dust on their eye, they can usually clean them with their legs. As for light, they don't have anything to block it out. They also don't sleep like us, but they do enter a period of inactivity that lets them rest
- 10:00 am
- GuestWhat happens when a wasp stings you?
Bugscope Teamthey don't die, that is just in the case of a honeybee. When a wasp stings you, they can sting you multiple times and inject you with a little of their venom each time. The histamine component in their venom is what people are allergic to
- Bugscope Teamthe stinger also acts as an ovipositor, which is where they lay eggs. So most of the bees, wasps, and ants you see are females
- GuestHow much does a wasp eat in a day?
- 10:06 am
- GuestI just brought in 2 classes of 5th grade and we are going to choose images here . . .
Bugscope Teamok sounds great
- Bugscope TeamScanning electron microscope (SEM) images you might see in movies or tv shows are usually false colored, which is done later after they were acquired
- 10:13 am
- GuestIs the ladybug dead?
Bugscope Teamyes all the insects you will see today are dead, and that is important. If they were alive they wouldn't sit still for very long. Another thing is these samples are kept in a vacuum as we look at them, so they wouldn't be able to breathe. I also don't think they would like the electrons hitting.
- Bugscope Teamthis is the antenna on the ladybug
- Bugscope Teamantennae are very important to insects, some rely on them more than their eyesight. They help them with gathering signals from other insects
- GuestWhere do the insects secrete chemicals to communicate?
Bugscope TeamI believe most do it out of the tip of their abdomen. Stink bugs have special glands for their stink by their front pair of legs
- GuestDr. Brown wants to know why these are so hairy?
Bugscope Teaminsects are hairy because they rely on those hairs to help them sense what is going on around it in its environment. They have that tough exoskeleton which isn't sensitive like our skin, so those hairs which are attached to nerves underneath their 'shell' allow them to feel, taste/smell, feel vibrations, or sense temperature changes
- Bugscope Teamthis fruit fly eye is hairy because the hairs help them feel changes in the wind currents and also when things come close to their eyes, like cat whiskers
- 10:18 am
- GuestIs there a way to know what their vision looks like? And how may parts do they have in thier compound eye?
Bugscope Teamthe fruit fly has thousands. All those facets make it so they can see movement really quickly. So when we are trying to swat them, it just looks like our hand is coming at them in slow motion.
- GuestWhat's that stuff in the eye? Are there hairs on their eye when they are born?
Bugscope Teamthis stuff is mostly broken off hairs, which are called setae (pronounced see-tee). When they are maggots they don't have hairs on their eyes, but they do once they emerge as adults.
- 10:23 am
- GuestWe are getting lots of questions - sorry for the pace - why are they shaped like hexagons?
Bugscope Teamgood question (they all are really). Hexagons are the best shape to fit the curvature of the eye. They allow there to be as many facets as there can be in a spherical shape. that is why honey combs have hexagons
- GuestWhat the heck are these?
Bugscope Teamthese are special hairs that some insects have by their feet. They allow them to walk on vertical surfaces. Like how you see flies walk on your windows. They act like suction cups or velcro
- GuestSo the tips are like suction cups? is that why they are a little larger?
Bugscope Teamyes that's right
- Bugscope Teammicro suction cups
- 10:28 am
- GuestHow many seate do insects have on their feet?
Bugscope Teamthat depends. In the case of this ladybug, each leg could have hundreds. The fruit fly has much fewer
- GuestWhat do fruit flies have claws for? A student yesterday asked if fruit flies eat things that aren't fruit?
Bugscope Teamall insects have claws at the ends of their legs. They may not all look the same. Insects use them to grab onto things for balance or for eating. Fruit flies actually don't eat fruit, they eat an enzyme found on overripe fruit. But that is all they eat yes.
- 10:33 am
- GuestKids are taking turns driving
Bugscope Teamthat is great
- GuestWhat are the lines in the back?
Bugscope Teamthose are from the carbon tape the insects are sitting on. It helps ground the charge from the electrons as well as help the insects stick down
- Bugscope Teaman ambush bug hangs out on plants and flowers mostly and waits for an unsuspecting insect to come by and snatches them for a meal
- GuestIt looks like his senior picture.
- Bugscope Teamthey have those big meaty arms to grab onto the insects, kind of like a praying mantis
- Bugscope Teamit kind of has a toady appearance with all its bumps
- GuestIs that thing in the middle the sucker that they eat bug juice from?
Bugscope Teamthat's right!
- 10:39 am
- GuestLeslie wants to know what the hollow area is there by the leg?
Bugscope Teamah. that is where a pin was stuck through the insect. It used to be part of an entomologist's collection
- GuestWhat are the bumps for?
Bugscope Teamnot sure how the bumps help this insect. Maybe they help it blend into whatever plant it likes to hang around
- GuestWhat is the line down the middle?
Bugscope Teamthat is another mystery to me
- GuestDo they live in moist areas or dry areas?
Bugscope Teami think they mostly live in moist areas
- 10:44 am
- GuestWe know that females are the only ones that suck blodd, so what do the males eat?
Bugscope Teamsome males don't eat anything, and others will drink plant sap
- GuestDo insects have different seate for different things, or do they perform all of the sensory information at the same time?
Bugscope Teamthey have different setae for different things. Most are for the sense of touch.
- Bugscope Teamthese are all great questions everyone
- GuestWhat are the donut looking things? Are they eyes, or is the surrounding area the eye?
Bugscope Teamthose are not the eyes, but are often mistaken for them. The eyes are the bumpy areas that cover most the head. The donut things are called pestils, where the antennae come out. One of the antenna broke off, so we only see one
- GuestIs this one missing an antena?
Bugscope Teamyes one of them broke off
- GuestWhy does it itch when they bite you?
Bugscope Teamthat is because of the anticoagulant they inject you with when their pierce your skin
- Bugscope Teammosquitoes see in infrared
- Bugscope Teamas do moths
- Bugscope Teamtheir eye facets look a little lumpy and that is because they lost some of their shape when they dried out
- 10:51 am
- GuestWhy is blood better for females to lay eggs? Is it to feed the larvae?
Bugscope TeamThe blood gives the female enough energy to lay the eggs.
- GuestWhere do the eggs come from, and how many do mosquitos lay at a time?
Bugscope Teamthey come out from the tip of the abdomen and they can lay 100 to 250 eggs.
- GuestWhen they lay their eggs are the larvae sticky?
Bugscope TeamThe larvae live in the water and come to the surface to breathe. I am not sure if they are sticky. They could be
Bugscope TeamThe larva feed on micro-organisms and organic matter in the water.
- Bugscope Teamthe eggs are sticky
- 10:56 am
- GuestWhat is the thing directly in the middle?
Bugscope Teamwe are seeing the beetle head from the underside. Like if you were looking up All of those near the top are mouth parts. The thing nearest the middle could be something to help the food stay in the mouth. The "feelers" are palps, which help move around food or taste
- GuestAlso, what are the circular things in the background?
Bugscope Teamthose are more artifacts from the carbon tape
- Guest Where are the eyes?
Bugscope Teamthey are found near the very bottom of the image, They are the bulging things on either side by the antennae
- GuestI have a huge list comeing now: What is the smallest insect?
Bugscope Teamthat would be the fairyfly. It's a very small wasp that packs a powerful sting
- GuestHow large can beetles grow?
Bugscope TeamTht depends on the species. The world's largest beetle: Titanus giganteus, a member of the Cerambycidae native to South America. These large beetles can measure up to 170 mm (over 6 inches in length).
- 11:02 am
- GuestAre there flies that can kill people?
Bugscope Teamnot that I know of, but there are bot fly larvae that can burrow into your skin
- GuestWhere do beetles lay eggs?
Bugscope Teamusually in dark moist places. Like dead tree branches
- Bugscope Teamhere is a caddisfly larva. In the larval stage they are aquatic
- GuestWhat do these larvae eat?
Bugscope Teamthey eat algae mostly
Bugscope Teamsome will cast nets to capture and eat other insects
- GuestWhat are those things? Are they saete?
Bugscope Teamthose are gills
- GuestHow long do these flies live?
Bugscope Teamadults can live up to several months, but sometimes as little as a few weeks
- GuestHow large are these larvae?
Bugscope Teamonly a couple centimeters big
- 11:07 am
- GuestDo all insects have compound eyes?
Bugscope Teamyes all insects do. Spiders, which aren't really insects just have compound eyes
- GuestIs this the mouth? And someone wanted to know if these larvae have eyes?
Bugscope Teamyes this is the mouth. It is kind of dirty but it has a hunged jaw that opens out like a gate
Bugscope Teamthey might have eyes, but they are hard to pick out
- Bugscope Teamthese are found in the palp of a ladybug. They are the setae responsible for tasting
- GuestWhere are these located on the ladybug?
Bugscope Teamsorry I kind of answered that, but this is part of the palp (a mouthpart) of the ladybug
- Bugscope Teamthere's a little piece of dirt/dust hanging off the side
- Bugscope Teamthe ladybug is dirty probably because it was found already dead in someone's home. In life, they usually like to keep themselves cleaner
- GuestWhat insects do they eat in our garden?
Bugscope Teamthey eat other insects, mostly aphids. They are helpful to gardens. Not so helpful when they overwinter in our homes
- 11:12 am
- GuestThe students wanted to thank you! We have to switch classes! This was GREAT!
Bugscope TeamThank you for using bugscope today. Sorry about the confusion with the log in in the beginning
- Bugscope TeamGlad you all had a great time
- GuestDo you guys have a couple of more minutes for first grade questions?
- Bugscope Teamyes we have a few minutes
- 11:17 am
- GuestIs our info ready immediately? And will it be on our site - I think it thought we were a different school.
Bugscope Teamthis will be available on this school's member page. We will try to figure out if we can move it over for your member page.
- Bugscope Teambut for now you can see images and chat on https://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2011-030
- Bugscope TeamI will email someone on staff that actually made the software for bugscope. I think it is relatively easy to move the data over to your member page
- Bugscope Teamto the right is a scale on the eye
- 11:22 am
- GuestFirst and second grade want to know what we are looking at here?
Bugscope Teamthe is part of the moth compound eye. It has a bunch of scales all over it, which most likely happened after it died.
- GuestWhat is the stuff sitting on top?
Bugscope TeamThose are all scales, most likely shed from either this moth or other moths that it was captured with
- Bugscope Teamscales can be used as a defensive measure. Say the moth is caught in a spider net, it can simple shed a few scales and possible get away
- GuestWhy are these called "Backswimmers"
Bugscope Teamthey swim upsidedown. They are predatory- attacking other insects and drinking their liquids out from the tube they have as a mouthpart
- 11:28 am
- GuestWhat is the dark space where we centered the image?
Bugscope Teamthat is a segment of their thorax that allows them to bend like your knee
Bugscope Teamit is dark because it seems to overhand the other segment a little
Bugscope Teamoverhang*
- GuestThese are the saete for walking?
Bugscope Teamthey are the suction cup setae. The hairs that help the insect walk on walls
- GuestKids want to know what the stuff in the middle of the saetee is?
Bugscope Teamdust, dirt, and other debris. Stuff that doesn't belong. It can get caught up in the hairs easily
- Bugscope Teamthe round ball near the lower middle might be a mold spore
- GuestOkay - we are done on this side. Where can we email some drawings we make to you?
- GuestTHANK YOU SO MUCH!
- 11:34 am
- Bugscope Teamyou can email bugscope@bugscope.itg.uiuc.edu.
Bugscope Teami'm sorry it's bugscope@beckman.illinois.edu. It changed a little
- Bugscope Teamthank you all for joining today
- Bugscope Teamit is kind of dark but this is the view from inside the chamber
- Bugscope Teamyou can see all the insects