Connected on 2012-05-01 11:00:00
from Sacramento, California, United States
- 10:42 am
- Bugscope Teamwe're making presets for today's session
- 10:47 am
- 10:53 am
- 11:00 am
- Teachergood morning
- Teacheranyone there?
- Bugscope TeamHi
- Bugscope TeamGood morning!
- Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
- Bugscope Teamyup
- Teacherso what do we do
- Bugscope TeamYou have control of the microscope, and please let us know when you have any questions, about anything.
- TeacherHi.. I have 30 fourth graders ready to learn
Bugscope TeamCool!
- Bugscope TeamYou can select from the presets, on the lefthand screen; if you click on one, the 'scope will drive to that place.
- Bugscope TeamAlso, you can change the magnification on the central screen, and also change focus, etc.
- Teacherwhat are we looking at and how much time do we stay online with you?
Bugscope Teamwe have you for the next hour if that works for you
- Bugscope Teamthat was the head of a millipede
- Bugscope TeamI just moved us to the head of a ladybug
- 11:05 am
- Bugscope Teamand this is a small 'true bug"
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that one of its antennae broke
- Bugscope Teamyou can see its bulbous compound eyes
- Bugscope Teamand you can see one reason why it is called a 'true bug': it has a piercing mouthpart
- Bugscope Teaminsects that are true bugs have piercing/sucking mouthparts like that
- Teacherif you don't mind, please take the lead and show us the bugs
- Bugscope Teamthe part that is in the middle of the bug is the proboscis, or sucker
- Bugscope Teamnow you can see more of the body. the legs, all six of them, are connected to the thorax
- TeacherAdam asks if it has a "sucker"
Bugscope Teamyes it does!
Bugscope TeamTrue bugs can use this "sucker" or proboscis to feed on plants, other insects, and even mammals/animals
- Bugscope Teamand now we can see the tip of the proboscis
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that insects up close have lots of tiny hairs, called 'setae.'
- TeacherMia asks if it is an arthropod?
Bugscope Teamyes. all insects are arthropods, as are spiders, and crabs
- 11:10 am
- Bugscope Teaminsects are invertebrates, meaning that they do not have a backbone, like mammals, including people
- Bugscope Teaminvertebrates do not have bones at all; instead they have what is called an exoskeleton
- Bugscope Teamthey don't have bones on the inside, which is what a skeleton is, but they have a shell on the outside, which is called an exoskeleton
- TeacherAniqa asks what are all of the hairs for?
Bugscope TeamThe hairs are for sensory purposes. Since invertebrates have an exoskeleton, they use these hairs to feel the environment around them.
- Bugscope Teamright next to the proboscis we see one of the claws of this tiny true bug
- Bugscope Teamnow we're looking at another insect
- Bugscope Teamit's very small, and it flies, and you find it on or near fruit
- Bugscope Teamyou can see its eyes, which have lots of facets on them, individual lenses called ommatidia
- Bugscope Teamcan you guess what it is?
- TeacherThe class guesses a fruit fly
Bugscope TeamYay!
- 11:15 am
- Bugscope Teamit is a fruit fly!
- Bugscope Teamfruit flies often have lots of little spines between their eye facets that are said to help them sense the wind -- the direction of the wind and also its speed
- TeacherJulia asks What are the "hairs" sticking out of the eyes?
Bugscope Teamthose hairs help tell the fly if things are touching the eye and also help tell what direction the air currents are going
- TeacherAdam wants to know if they can actually see?
Bugscope Teamyes they can! they can see around them without turning their heads because their eyes are large and bulbous like this
- TeacherDominic asks How many eyes does a Fruit Fly have?
Bugscope Team5!
Bugscope Teamthey have 2 compound eyes like you see here, and also 3 smaller simple eyes called ocelli.
Bugscope Team2 compound eyes (the large ones that you see, and 3 smaller simple eyes.)
- Bugscope Teamthis is the fruit fly's mouth
- Bugscope Teamfruit flies have sponging mouthparts, compared to the true bug, for example, with its piercing sucking mouthparts
- Bugscope Teamwhen we see the mouth like this, we have to remember that it is dry but in real life it would be moist with saliva
- 11:20 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is a larger fly, although it may be hard to tell
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that it also has compound eyes, on the sides of its head
- Bugscope Teamone of its 'knees' is sticking up in front of its face
- Bugscope Teamthese things are the housefly's antennae
- TeacherAfra Asks, Does it have more eyes than a fruit fly?
Bugscope TeamIt does! It has more eye facets in its compound eyes than the fruit fly.
- Bugscope Teamthe housefly has sponging mouthparts like the fruitfly
- TeacherWhat is piece that the annteneas are connected to?
Bugscope Teamthe base of the antennae is another component of the antenna -- the branched parts are called the aristate antennae
- 11:26 am
- Bugscope Teamit also has ocelli -- the simple eyes -- but they are on top of its head and we cannot see them now
- Bugscope Teamthe parts of the antennae that look like pincushions have lots of sensory setae on them, like taste buds for chemical scents in the air
- Bugscope Teaminside they have sensors that help them maintain their balance
- Bugscope Teamthis is a grain of pollen at the entrance of the housefly's mouth
- TeacherDo all bugs have ocelli? Or just flies?
Bugscope Teamnot all do no. They are mostly on flying insects. They help them navigate, like a built in GPS
Bugscope Teamlepidopterans or moths and butterflies do not have ocelli, most other insects have 1-3
- TeacherWhat is the background?
Bugscope Teamal the insects and sample are laying on a piece of carbon tape that is sitting on an aluminum disk.
- 11:31 am
- TeacherWhat are we currently looking at?
- Bugscope Teamhere you can see the carbon tape behind these cool salt crystals from a Wendy's restaurant
- Bugscope Teamtable salt, which is sodium chloride, forms cubic crystals like this
- Bugscope Teamwhen the salt comes from Wendy's, sometimes it has this neat incised appearance, like it was carved
- TeacherWhat are we looking at/
- Bugscope Teamthese things that look like rounded pebbles are actually ommatidia -- eye facets -- like the ones we saw earlier
- Bugscope Teamif we take the magnification down a bit, we can see where we are
- Bugscope Teamthe things that look like little tops are the bases of the antennae
- 11:36 am
- TeacherWhat are things that look like mushrooms?
Bugscope Teamthose are pedicels, which the antennae stick into
- TeacherWhat are we looking at?
Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a mosquito
Bugscope Teamit's pretty beaten up. Looks like its biting mouthparts are missing, and both antennae are broken off.
- Bugscope Teamwe think that a dustmite came along after the mosquito died and chewed on its face
- Bugscope Teamthese are the bitemarks from the dustmite, which then went somewhere also for another snack
- Bugscope Teammosquitoes like other flies have sucking mouthparts, but instead of sponging up juices/blood, it pierces in through skin to suck up blood like a syringe.
- Bugscope Teamcan you guess what this is?
- Bugscope Teamit has two antennae, like all insects do; and it has four palps, which help it taste and manipulate its food
- Bugscope Teamred with black spots
- Bugscope Teamtwo of the palps look like vacuum cleaner nozzles
- TeacherA Ladybug?
Bugscope TeamYes it is!
- Bugscope Teamit eyes are streamlined into the shape of its head
- 11:42 am
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see one of its compound eyes better
- TeacherHow many eyes does a ladybug have?
Bugscope Teamit has two compound eyes, and each has probably a few hundred individual lenses, called ommatidia
- Bugscope Teamthe antennae is lying across the bottom portion of the eye
- Bugscope Teamoops I mean antenna...
- Bugscope Teamthe ladybug has mandibles, or jaws, that open side to side like a gate
- Bugscope Teamthe 'hinge' of one of the mandibles is just below the base of the antenna
- Bugscope Teamthis thing that looks like a happy shark is the tip of the mandible
- Bugscope Teamhere is inside the palp where it can taste the food
- 11:48 am
- TeacherWhat do ladybugs eat?
Bugscope Teamother insects, like aphids
Bugscope Teamthey also eat pollen and nectar
- TeacherAre ladybugs posinious?
Bugscope Teamno but they do smell (and probably taste) bad
Bugscope Teami wouldn't say they're poisonous, though depending on the predator, they are toxic.
Bugscope Teamthey have alkaloids in their hemolymph that would probably be bad for a bird or something
- TeacherWhy do some ladybugs have spots and others do not?
Bugscope Teamhmm, don't know, there are lots of different species. spots also tend to fade as the adults get older.
- 11:54 am
- TeacherHow many species of ladybugs are there?
Bugscope Teamthere are over 300 types in North America
- TeacherWhich species is most common in California?
Bugscope TeamConvergent Ladybird Beetle?
Bugscope Teami don't know, that's just a random guess, since they are the most common in North America.
- 11:59 am
- Bugscope Teamthe asian ladybug is pretty much everywhere too
Bugscope Teamthis is true. that's what happens when insects get introduced. they just take over.
- TeacherCan we see a different picture?
Bugscope Teamsorry it looks like there's a little bit of a problem with the driving. Hang on while I see if I can fix it
- Bugscope Teamhmm ok random information time
- Bugscope Teamthe true bug you saw earlier, there is a family within them called assassin bugs
- Bugscope Teammost of these hunt other insects for food, and suck the blood out
- Bugscope Teamhowever, some have adapted to feed on mammalian blood
- Bugscope Teamthere is one down in central/south america that spreads a disease called chagas disease
- Bugscope Teama lot of times, this disease is little to no symtoms
- Bugscope Teamuntil you just wake up dead one day
- Bugscope Teamwe are back on the housefly. I don't know what the problem is with the driving mechanism though.
- Bugscope Teamcate here by the way
- Bugscope Teamthis is a pollen grain on the housefly tongue
- Bugscope Teamif you look at the presets, there are a couple slides we haven't looked at labelled as tenent setae
- 12:05 pm
- Bugscope Teamthis is the setae or hairs on an insect's tarsal pads
- Bugscope Teamok i think you can drive around again
- Bugscope Teamthey help insects walk on all types of surfaces
- Bugscope Teamthey also help some grapple prey
- Bugscope TeamRios are you still there?
- TeacherYes
- Bugscope Teamfor example, in certain predatory species of fireflies (beetles), it uses its claws and puvillus (a pad with the tenent setae) to grab their prey, and once it has a hold on the prey, it's nearly impossible to escape
- Bugscope Teamok well we are going to have to shut down soon so we can let other researchers use it. Do you have any final questions for us?
- TeacherNo we do not. Thank you for your time!
- Bugscope Teamall the chat and images from today can be viewed again if you visit your member page
- Bugscope Teamthank you! it was fun.
- Bugscope Teamhttps://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2011-083
- Bugscope Teamgood bye!
- TeacherGood Bye!
- 12:10 pm
- Bugscope Teamthanks for joining us today!
- Bugscope Teamit's kind of dark, but this is inside the microscope where all the insects are sitting
