Connected on 2012-04-16 10:00:00
from Cook, Illinois, United States
- 9:17 am
- Bugscope Teamsample is pumping down
- Bugscope Teamsoon we will start making presets
- 9:26 am
- 9:31 am
- 9:36 am
- 9:42 am
- 9:47 am
- Bugscope TeamHello Tamara!
- Bugscope TeamWelcome back!
- Bugscope Teamwe're finishing up the presets for your session
- 9:53 am
- Guestwhat does pumping down mean?
Bugscope Teambefore we can start the electron beam we have to have a good vacuum in the specimen chamber, so we click 'Pump' and get the chamber to pump down to an acceptable level.
- Bugscope Teamwe keep all the samples in a vacuum chamber so that the electrons will be better at hitting the sample
- Bugscope Teamwe are using electrons rather than light to collect images of the samples, and electrons require a good vacuum
- Bugscope Teamthe electron microscope uses 'primary' electrons -- the electron beam -- to knock what are called 'secondary' electrons out of the conductive coating on the surface of the sample. The secondary electrons provide the signal that becomes the image we see.
- Bugscope Teamthese are individual scales on the wing of the butterfly
- 10:04 am
- TeacherThe first graders are now ready and very excited!
- Bugscope Teamsweet!
- Bugscope Teamthese are butterfly scales from the butterfly. They look kind of like potato chips
- Bugscope Teamplease let us know whenever you have questions, or when you might need help
- Bugscope Teamthe scales are the powdery stuff that comes off the butterflies or moths when you touch them
- Bugscope Teamwhen you rub a butterfly's wing, and it feels really silky, this is the powdery stuff that comes off
- TeacherThe children want to know why there are all of those lines and hole?
Bugscope Teamwing scales like this are kind of like feathers to some insects; the holes, for example, keep them lightweight. The ridges keep them a bit rigid and also interfere with light so that the scale produces what are called 'structural' colors. That is, the ridges cause us to see changing colors on the wing.
- Bugscope Teamscales can have both colors that come from pigments and colors that come from the closeness of the ridges (the lines) we see now.
- Bugscope Teammoths, butterflies, mosquitoes, silverfish, and very few other insects have scales
- 10:09 am
- Bugscope Teamwe know from rubbing the wings and making the scales come off like powder that the scales are loosely attached to the wing
- Bugscope TeamTamara let us know if the system is not allowing you to select from other presets
- TeacherWhat is that volcano like hole for (in between the scales)?
Bugscope Teamthat is where a scale fell off
- TeacherThat's cool!
- Bugscope Teamyes as Cate says -- that is where a scale was attached to the wing and fell off
- Bugscope Teammoths and butterflies are ok if they lose a few scales. They even can lose a few to get free from a spider's web!
- TeacherDo the scales grow back if they lose them?
Bugscope Teamno they don't
- TeacherAbput how many scales does a butterfly have?
Bugscope Teamthey have tens of thousands of scales, at least. We don't know for sure
- TeacherThe children think it is disappointing that they don't grow back!
- Bugscope Teamwhen an insect gets wings it has reached its adult stage, and it doesn
- Bugscope Team't molt and thus regenerate new scales
- 10:15 am
- TeacherHow many scales can they lose before they can't fly?
Bugscope TeamI'm not sure how many, but they can still fly after losing a lot of scales, but probably not as efficiently
- Bugscope TeamI read that a Monarch butterfly can lose half its scales and still manage to fly.
- TeacherDaania wants to know how long does a butterfly live?
Bugscope Teamsome monarchs are migratory so they can live for around a year, but most just live a few weeks
- TeacherMorgan wants to know what a butterfly likes to eat?
Bugscope Teamthey like the nectar of certain plants depending on what species they are. Monarchs like milkweed, which is poisonous to a lot of animals. So when monarchs eat it, it makes the monarch poisonous to eat too
- Bugscope TeamNectar is the sweet liquid that flowers produce in order to attract insects that can help spread pollen.
- 10:20 am
- TeacherWe learned about molting when we studied penguins!
Bugscope Teampenguins can molt, but most insects and other arthropods do not once they have developed wings
- TeacherWe are now looking at the True Bug head. Is that the name of a kind of bug?
- Bugscope Teamthis is some sort of true bug you sent us. A true bug is a type of insect that has a proboscis to drink liquids from. They look similar to a beetle. Not all insects can actually be called bugs. Fun fact
- TeacherMax wants to know how butterflies get their different colors?
Bugscope Teamthe colors come from two things: one is the pigment that we can sometimes see in the latticework of the wing scales, and one is from the shape of the ridges in the scales and how that shape interferes with the light we see
- Bugscope Teamthe bumps we see that make up the shape of the compound eye are actually individual lenses of the eye
- TeacherPaul wants to know what that stick is on the eye?
Bugscope Teamit looks like a thorn!
- TeacherAll the children want to know why there is so much sticking to the bug's eye?
Bugscope Teammost of it is dust and dirt. I think most of it accumulates after the insect dies. They tend to keep their eyes a little more clean than that by using their front legs to help wipe it away
- Bugscope Teamwhen we see insects up close like this we see that they have lots of tiny hair-like things on their body surfaces
- Bugscope Teamthe hair-like things are called 'setae,' pronounced see-tee
- 10:26 am
- TeacherWhat is the hair for?
Bugscope Teaminsects do not have skin like we do, with nerve endings in it. and they do not have noses, like we do, to help them smell.
- Bugscope Teaminstead of having skin, they have what is called an 'exoskeleton,' which is a shell, or a kind of armor.
- Bugscope Teamtheir exoskeleton is similar to what it would be like if you were to wear a suit of armor. You wouldn't be able to feel if something was touching you through the armor, so they have little hairs poking through theirs to help
- Bugscope Teamthis ant kind of looks like a frog
- Bugscope Teamyes as Cate said, the little hairs -- the setae -- help the insect sense what is around it.
- Bugscope Teamthe setae help the insect smell and sense touch and wind, and also to sense hot and cold
- TeacherLindsay wants to know that if there are so many parts to a bug's eye, does it see things a lot of times?
Bugscope Teamit does see lots of times! exactly! and that helps it tell when something is trying to catch it -- it can see changes, like movement, very very quickly
- Bugscope Teamthe ant's antennae broke off after it died
- TeacherSarah wants to know what those 'paws' are on the ant's head?
Bugscope Teami think you are talking about the mandibles, which are the hinged jaws that open out like a gate. They help the ant chew
- 10:31 am
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that the ant has compound eyes like those of the true bug
- Bugscope Teamit also has little hairs on the top of its head that are like cat or rat whiskers -- they help it feel if something is touching it
- TeacherSwarnika wants to know how you can tell if something falls off an insect before or after it dies?
Bugscope Teamthings call off easily after it dies because it is dried out. I suppose you could tell if something fell off before it died if you can see evidence of the insect's blood.
- Bugscope Teamyou can actually see that the ant's left antenna, on the right, is curved around its head -- so it did not break off
- TeacherPaul wants to know what this is?
- Bugscope Teaminsects do not breathe through their mouths; instead they breathe through these tiny pores, which they can open or close\
- TeacherGuess you anticipated Paul's question before we even asked!
- Bugscope Teamthe spiracles lead to tubes called tracheae on the inside of the insect
- Bugscope Team's body
- 10:36 am
- TeacherHow many spiracles do insects have?
Bugscope Teamit varies, but it seems like they usually have one on each side of a segment of the body
- TeacherSarah wants to know where these are located on an insect's body?
Bugscope Teamthey are usually seen on the insect's abdomen on the sides
- Bugscope Teamthey are little portholes in each segment of the abdomen
- Bugscope Teamon flying insects we often see what seem to be enlarged spiracles on the thorax, which is the 'chest' area. the legs are attached to the thorax, and also the wings
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see two spiracles, there on the left side of the abdomen
- Bugscope Teama insect has a head, a thorax, an abdomen (where we are looking now), six legs, and two antennae
- Bugscope Teamyou can see one of the true bug's legs, and you can see that it has wings, which are folded neatly under it
- Bugscope Teamwhoa it's a claw!
- Bugscope Teamthis beetle did not look very good, but Cate was able to find one of its claws, which looks cool!
- 10:42 am
- Bugscope Teamthere is usually a claw at the end of each of the six legs
- TeacherHana wants to know if those long things are hairs or nails?
Bugscope Teamthe sharp spikes are the hairs, but the long curved parts are the claws. The claws are like hands for insects
- Bugscope Teamthis is the stinger from that big wasp you sent us
- TeacherMcKalya wants to know wht that spike is used for in between the claws?
Bugscope Teamvery good question! the spike is sensory, and it lets the insect know when it is grasping something
- Bugscope Teamsome of the hairs, or bristles, or spines, or setae that we see on insects help the insects sense when they are touching something, or even when they are bending their arm too far
- TeacherWe thought the stinger was curved!
Bugscope Teamnow you can see that it is, a bit
- TeacherGuess we just had to back away from the magnification to see the curve
Bugscope Teampretty cool!
- 10:47 am
- TeacherLindsay wants to know if this is fur or hair?
Bugscope Teamthe stuff that looks like fur is hair, or setae.
- Bugscope Teamscales are actually modified setae
- Bugscope Teammoths and butterflies always have lots of scales like this
- 10:53 am
- TeacherIs it fun being a bug scientist?
- TeacherSome of the children want to know what it is like to be a bug scientist?
Bugscope Teamwe are part-time entomologists and fulltime electron microscopists. it is really fun for us.
- TeacherDo you only work with dead bugs?
Bugscope Teamusually, but we work with lots of other things as well
- TeacherHow did you know you wanted to be bug scientists?
Bugscope Teamwe aren't actually entomologists, but we deal with a lot of different sciences. I have always been interested in science and have found it fun to discover new things
- Bugscope Teamright now you are using a $600,000 Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). We are using electrons to get images instead of light. We have many different kinds of light microscopes
- TeacherHow many of these kinds of microscopes at there?
Bugscope Teamthere are hundreds of them in the world, but not very many that will do this -- connect with classrooms anywhere
- TeacherSwarnika wants to know if it is hard work being a scientist?
Bugscope TeamThere are times where it is hard, but that makes it more fun. It's like getting little puzzles that you have to solve. Doing projects like bugscope isn't hard though. It's fun! We get to talk to students like you and look at insects
- TeacherWhat kinds of other things do you work with?
Bugscope Teamwe work with bacteria, with nerve cells, with blood cells, with corn protein, with geology samples, with lots and lots of silicon devices, with self-healing polymers, on and on
- Bugscope Teamwe are very lucky because we get a chance to see all kinds of cutting-edge research -- things that people are just discovering
- 10:59 am
- TeacherOne last bug question from Nico. How do bugs communicate?
Bugscope Teamsome it is chemicals. They will leave trails of scents. Others will pick up the scent with their antennae. Others will use sound like cicadas and crickets.
- Bugscope Teammuch of the communication insects do is through pheromones -- through chemical trails they can sense using their antennae
- Bugscope Teamas Cate said...
- Bugscope Teaminsects also use their eyes
- TeacherThank you for helping us learn more about bugs and microscopes! It is always fun working with you all :-)
- Bugscope Teamwe had a really good time
- Bugscope Teamplease be sure to sign up soon to work with us next year, because Bugscope is getting more popular and we are running out of space on the calendar
- Bugscope Teamhttps://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2011-119
- TeacherWe did too! I will do it immediately! Thanks and have a great day!
- Bugscope Teambelow is your member page, with images and chat transcripts
- Bugscope Teamthanks for joining us today!
- Bugscope TeamBye! Thank You!
- Guestthank you from Gold Hill Elementary Ms Gardner's 4th gr. Technology class!
- 11:04 am
- Bugscope TeamGold Hill are you still there?
- Bugscope TeamCate gave your control of the microscope
- Bugscope Teamgave *you* control, sorry
- Bugscope Teamplease let us know when you have questions
- Guestyes, we are - thanks!!!
- Bugscope Teamwe can let you drive for a while if you would like
- Bugscope Teamthis is the right eye of the moth
- Bugscope Teamthe compound eye
- Guestsure, we would love it!
- Bugscope Teamyou should now be able to change mag, select from the presets on the left, etc.
- Bugscope Teamnow you can start to see the individual ommatidia -- the individual facets of the compound eye
- Bugscope Teamand you can see that the eye has some dirt on it, as well as those hairs
- Gueststudents want to know if those are hairs on the eye.
Bugscope Teamthere are! They help them to feel when the wind is changing direction as well as if something is touching their eye
- Bugscope Teammoths can see ultraviolet light, which we cannot -- we need a blacklight to be able to see UV light
- Bugscope Teamsome flowers produce light in UV wavelengths to make themselves more attractive to insects
- 11:10 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is a butterfly, and you can see that its proboscis, which is normally neatly coiled, is coming loose
- Guestthey like the mohawk look. Is that the probiscus (sp)
- Guest:)
- GuestWe are going to maginify that part.
- Bugscope Teamwhen a moth or butterfly wants to feed on a flower, it pushes hemolymph into the proboscis and makes it extend like one of those party favor on New Years'.
- Bugscope Teamhemolymph is insect 'blood'
- Guestthat answers that ? we had.
- Bugscope Teamyou can see from here that the compound eye has thousands of ommatidia
- Bugscope Teamsome larger wasps can have as many as 17,000 ommatidia per compound eye
- Guest EntomologistHi sorry i'm late, there was a talk.
- Guestwhat are the hairs
Bugscope Teamhairs in insects are almost always sensory -- they help them sense touch, wind, scents in the air, scents by touch, and hot/cold
- Bugscope Teamwe are not supposed to called them hairs. so they are setae, microsetae, bristles, spines, trichae, microtrichae, etc.
- 11:16 am
- Bugscope Teaminsects and comparable arthropods do not have skin with nerve endings in it like we do, nor do they have noses
- Bugscope Teaminstead, insects and arthropods have an exoskeleton -- their skeleton is on the outside.
- Bugscope Teamthat is of course why they are called invertebrates -- they have no internal bones
- Bugscope Teamthe exoskeleton is more like a protective shell, or like armor
- Bugscope Teamso the 'hairs' stick through that armor to help the insect sense its environment
- Bugscope Teamthis is high mag on a single ommatidium on the butterfly's compound eye
- Bugscope Team5 microns -- on the scale bar -- is the length of about 2.5 bacilli, which are the rod-shaped bacteria
- Guestthank you for the extra time! We have to go to another class now. We will look at the whole conversation soon. Hope to see you again !
- Bugscope TeamThank You!
- Bugscope TeamPlease apply to Bugscope for a session, even far in the future
- Bugscope TeamGood to see you!
- 11:21 am
- Bugscope TeamJoe we worked with Tamara Deppen's class a bit earlier, and this was just a bit of icing on the cake. I am shutting down now, but you can see that I requested admin access for you in the future.
- GuestWe will....btw- just printed out the session. Like that feature too.
- Guest Entomologistyea i must have written down the wrong time. Thanks. i should be on tmr.
- Guest Entomologistbye
- Bugscope TeamThank you again, Gold Hill!
- Bugscope TeamSee you all!
- Bugscope Team oops just kicked them off
Bugscope Teamnp
