Connected on 2012-05-09 11:28:53
from Alameda, California, United States
- 1:08 pm
- Bugscope Teamit is 1:06 here in Urbana; 11:06 in California. We will be connecting at 2 p.m. our time, noon California time.
- 1:18 pm
- 1:25 pm
- 1:43 pm
- TeacherI am here. My class comes in at 12:00
- Bugscope TeamCool!
- Bugscope TeamThis preset has drifted a bit.
- Bugscope Teamthat's more like it
- Bugscope TeamMrs K you should be able to click on any of the presets on the lefthand screen, and whichever one you select will show up on the center screen, live.
- Teacherawesome
- Teacherour class has been discussing adaptations (2nd grade)
- Bugscope Teamin a sec I will be at the 'scope and do some tweaking of the focus. it's easier, of course, at the 'scope.
- Bugscope Teamwing scales are helpful in a number of ways; they are comparable to feathers in birds
- 1:48 pm
- Bugscope Teamforemost might be that they are helpful in escaping from spiderwebs
- Bugscope Teamthey also function much like feathers, in giving the insect lightweight surface area that helps it hold onto the air when it flies
- Bugscope Teamand much like feathers in that they provide color, of two types: pigment-based and structural
- Bugscope Teamin addition, they help with thermoregulation -- keeping the insect's temperature stable as much as possible
- TeacherCool! When they come in I will tell them and have them ask other questions about adaptations
- 1:54 pm
- Bugscope Teamsome interruptions from other 'scope users...
- Bugscope Teamyou can think about insects as having to live, like we do, and having a different body style, size, etc. All of their adaptations are comparable to our adaptations, but different.
- Bugscope Teamthat is, insects have to solve the same problems we do, such as getting oxygen to our cells, eating, etc., but they have to do it a different way
- 2:00 pm
- Bugscope Teamwe are ready to roll!
- Bugscope Teamthe scales we are looking at now are what make a butterfly's wings feel so silky when we stroked them. they are also what the fine powder is that comes off of the wings so easily.
- Bugscope Teamthe vertical lines in the scales -- the ridges we see going up and down -- are so thin that they interfere with the wavelengths of light we see coming from the scales
- Bugscope Teamthey cause us to see colors that change as they move, slightly
- 2:06 pm
- TeacherWhat are we seeing?
- Bugscope Teamthis is a ladybug larva
- Bugscope Teamit's almost like it's sitting up
- Bugscope Teamthe cute little ladybugs did not always look so cute
- TeacherWhat do the spiny things do?
Bugscope Teamthey would help the larva from being eaten. The spines would annoy whatever was trying to eat it
- Teachervery cool
- Teacherdo they have feet or just legs?
Bugscope Teamit looks like they do not have feet like the adults do
- 2:11 pm
- Bugscope Teamwe can see now that at the end of the limb (there are six limbs) there is a single claw and also a lot of setae
- Teacherwhat do setae do?
- Bugscope Teamthe setae are fine hairlike features that in this case help the ladybug larva stick to the surface of a leaf, for example
- Bugscope Teamwhen we look at an adult we will see the same features, but in a way more refined
- Bugscope Teamthe setae are flattened out on the ends, helping them stick to surfaces
- Teachercan we look at the head?
- Bugscope Teamsuch setae are called 'tenent' setae because they hold onto things, like the Spanish work 'tener' -- to hold
- Bugscope Teamwe can see that the head has four (two pairs) of palps on it that help with feeding
- Teacheroh cool
- Teacherwhat are the fang-like things in the front?
Bugscope Teamthose are palps. There are 2 sets. They help with tasting or moving around food
- 2:18 pm
- Bugscope Teamladybug larvae are predators like the adults
- Bugscope Teamhere we see one of the stemmata, now in the middle of the screen. it is collapsed; normally it would be bulbous
- Teacherdoes it have the antenna yet?
Bugscope Teamthis is one of the antennae
- Bugscope Teamlet's compare the larva to an adult ladybug
- Teacherwhat are we seeing?
- Teacherdoes it have compound eyes yet?
Bugscope Teamno it has stemmata, which are what caterpillar eyes are called
Bugscope Teamstemmata are more like compound eyes than simple eyes. They're probably more like a simplified compound eye.
- Bugscope Teamit's so much cuter!
- Teacherwhat are the differences?
- Bugscope Teamthe adult ladybug, here, has compound eyes on either side of its head, and it still has four palps, two of which look like vacuum cleaner nozzles
- 2:23 pm
- Bugscope Teamthe body has changed a lot as well
- Bugscope Teamthe antennae are the longest things here, and they are clubbed at the ends
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see the compound eye, with the antenna curving across it
- Bugscope Teamwings are now formed, the fore wings are hard, acting as a sort of airfoil, (in beetles), and the hind wings are folded beneath this and unfold when they are ready to take flight
- Bugscope Teamthis is quite different from the stemmata
- Bugscope Teaminsects do not normally have noses for smelling -- some of the setae we see are chemosensory, and much of the surface of the antenna is covered with chemosensory (scent-sensitive) hairs
- Bugscope Teamand when insects breathe, rather than using noses or mouths, they have pores in their body segments that let air in
- 2:29 pm
- Bugscope Teamthis is a spiracle, which is what insects breathe through
- Bugscope Teamthe spiracle has setae around it that function like a filter to keep particles out
- Bugscope Teamif we take the magnification down we can see what insect we are looking at
- Bugscope Teamdo you recognize the insect now?
- Bugscope Teamyou can still see the spiracle, in the center of where we are looking now
- Teacherwe have many guesses
- Bugscope Teamthe spiracle is in the thorax, which is what the legs are attached to
- Bugscope Teamyou can cheat by looking at the caption to the upper left
- Teacherwhat is the insect?
Bugscope Teamit is a housefly, and likely a female housefly
- Bugscope Teamin flies, the eyes of the males are often close together, and those of the females are often spaced far apart
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see the compound eyes, on either side of the head
- 2:35 pm
- Bugscope Teamin the center, top of the head, we see the antennae, which have a chunky base and then branchlike 'aristate' portions
- TeacherWhere is its mouth?
Bugscope Teamit's right in the middle. It is very hairy. It has a sponging mouthpart
- Bugscope Teamwhen the fly was alive its mouth was wetter than this; it is very dry now
- Teacheris this the mouth?
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- TeacherHow does it eat food?
Bugscope Teamit spits saliva onto what it wants to eat, and the saliva dissolves the food; it then sponges it up
- 2:42 pm
- Teacherwhat is around the mouth?
Bugscope Teamremember the ladybug palps? we can see that the fly has two palps -- they look like cactus, kind of -- above the sponging mouthparts
- Bugscope Teamthere is an indentatio around the mouth, probably so that the fly can at least partially retract its mouthparts when it flies
- TeacherDo insects like this fly have ears?
Bugscope TeamInsects have tympanums, a lot of insects have these around the thorax, abdomen or legs. This is usually determined by where the tympanums can be farthest apart, to give the insect the best directional cues
- Bugscope Teamoops 'an indentation'
- Teachercan we see the aphid?
- Bugscope Teampraying mantises have a single centrally located ear on the thorax that helps them hear the ultrasonic chirps of bats
- Bugscope Teamteenage ninja mutant aphid
- Teachercan we see its abdomen?
Bugscope Teamthis, now, is the abdomen of one of the aphids
- Bugscope Teamaphids have these things that are like dual exhaust pipes called cornicles
- 2:47 pm
- Bugscope Teamsome cornicles produce a kind of nectar, a sugary water, that ants like
- Bugscope Teamsome cornicles, however, produce a kind of hotmelt glue that hardens as soon as it comes out into the air
- Teacherwhy is it wrinkly?
Bugscope Teamafter it died it dried out, becoming wrinkly
- Bugscope Teamthis thing that looks like a cannon, on the second aphid, is a cornicle
- Bugscope Teamwhen the glue-like substance comes out of some aphids' cornicles, it hardens and immobilizes ants
- Teacherawesome!
- TeacherThank you so much the class has to go now
- 2:52 pm
- Bugscope TeamThank You!
- Bugscope TeamWe enjoyed working with you today!
- Bugscope TeamThanks!
- Bugscope Teamhttps://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2011-134
- Bugscope Teamthanks for joining us today
- TeacherWe enjoyed it too, will love to do it again
- Bugscope Teamgoodbye!
- Bugscope Teamplease apply soon for a session as much as a year away -- we have been so busy
- Bugscope Teambelow is the link to this session
- Bugscope TeamBye!