Braden River Middle School
Session 2011-184

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Transcript

Connected on 2012-05-10 12:00:00 from Manatee, Florida, United States

• 11:20 am
• Bugscope Teamsample is pumping down
• Bugscope Teamthis is (presently) a view of the vacuum chamber
• 11:27 am
• Bugscope Teamtoday we have a spider, two ladybugs and two ladybug larvae, an earwig, a butterfly and a dragonfly wing, some special salt, a couple of houseflies, the head of a large wasp, some beetles, and a couple of ants
• Bugscope Teamwe never know what will look good at the micro scale until we start imaging
• 11:33 am

• Bugscope TeamHello Pawel!

• Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
• GuestHallo There ;-)
• GuestHow is the session going on?
• Bugscope Teamwe are setting up today's session, so we'll be driving around finding cool stuff for the next half hour until the the school connects at noon our time
• Bugscope Teamis it 7:30 or 8:30 where you are?

• GuestSending You all greatings from Poland. Just browsing net for remote laboratories and found your projeect few months ago
  Bugscope TeamCool! Thank You!

• 11:39 am

• GuestGreat Job! I'm the PhD in Physics Deppartment in Lodz University, and just finishing my thesis about Interactive Windtunnel that I built in my faculty.
  Bugscope Teamlooks good from here. totally cool about the windtunnel

• 11:44 am
• GuestSorry - connection failed
  Bugscope Teamwe are still getting messages...

• GuestYeah - my WiFi router playing with me.

• GuestDo you maind if I stay connected and look at the session?
  Bugscope Teamno problem at all -- we are glad to have you on board

• GuestThank you very much.

• 11:50 am
• Guesttunel.wfis.uni.lodz.pl if You'd like to have a look at my project. It's still under development (and still not translated into English ;-)
  Bugscope Teamwe will be happy to check it out later today

• Bugscope Teamhello Panther!
• Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
• 11:55 am

• Bugscope TeamPanther you have control of the microscope right now.
• Bugscope Teamplease let us know when you have questions!

• Bugscope Teamright now we are driving around, looking for a few more interesting places on the stub

• 12:01 pm

• Bugscope TeamPanther can you see this?
• TeacherHi, the students will be arriving in about 20 minutes. May we also ask questions about being a scientist?
  Bugscope Teamabsolutely
• Bugscope Teamyou have control of the microscope if you would like to drive around

• Bugscope Teamsweet

• 12:07 pm
• Bugscope Teamif you click the arrow on the left, you can see the whole lefthand screen with a number of presets on it. if you click on one of the presets, the 'scope will drive to that place
• TeacherI went to SIU :)
  Bugscope Teamtotally cool!
• TeacherDo you have our specimens?
  Bugscope TeamI put the earwig, the big green fly, and the dragonfly's wing on the stub

• Teacherthank you
• Bugscope Teamif we had put the cicada in the 'scope we would have had little room for anything else
• Bugscope TeamCate, who may be logging in soon, also went to SIU.
• Bugscope Teambe sure to check out the other presets
• TeacherSome students were interested about the inside. Could you dissect the cicada or is too late?
  Bugscope Teamwhen we prepare samples we have to do it in advance so we have time to mount them on the stub, coat them, and then find a few presets for you
• Teacherwhere do I access the presets?
  Bugscope Teamif you click the lefthand arrow you can see them -- the arrow to the left of the screen above

• Bugscope Teamcool!
• Bugscope Teamthis is your earwig!
• 12:12 pm
• Bugscope Teamthey have these odd two-part compound eyes
• TeacherWhen I clicked on a preset, it said ignored request because another microscope command is pending
  Bugscope Teamsometimes it does that and we have to wait, but you can see that you were able to access the one preset already

• TeacherI love it! Thank you for doing this.
  Bugscope Teamthis is super fun for us

• Bugscope Teamif you do have trouble with moving around we can do that for you
• Bugscope Teambut of course we want you to have control of the 'scope

• TeacherWhat is the earwig resting on- it kind of looks like skin
  Bugscope Teamall of the specimens are on carbon doublestick tape. they are also stuck down using silver paint, and then they are coated with gold-palladium to ensure that they are conductive

• Bugscope Teamthe doublestick carbon tape has little cracks in it, and you can also see craters, or bubbles
• Bugscope Teamwe have not seen any silver paint yet, but it will show up
• 12:17 pm
• TeacherI was trying to slide the image to see the other end. Is that possible.

• Bugscope Teamif you click on the head, it will move to the center of the screen

• Bugscope Teamit looks like you clicked to the right, so it centered further to the right
• Bugscope Teamnow we're moving back, looks like

• Bugscope Teamit takes a bit of getting used to

• Bugscope Teamha you already have it\
• Bugscope Teamyou can see the mouthparts, the eyes, the antennae, and parts of the two forelegs
• Bugscope Teamthis is a female earwig
• TeacherYeah ! The students are arriving in 5 min. I will relinquish control for them to ask questions .
• Bugscope Teamif you have any other computers available you can use them as well
• TeacherOne of the questions they wrote down yesterday is how to tell male from female.
  Bugscope Teammales have curved cercopods, like they are bowlegged; females are more demure and have straight cercopods
• Bugscope Teamthe cercopods are the pincers
• Bugscope TeamHello BRMS!
• Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
• 12:22 pm
• Bugscope Teamplease let us know when you have questions
• Bugscope Teamwe can also confer control to you if your teacher does not mind
• Bugscope Teamearwigs often have mites, but we have not seen any on this one; it led a clean life
• Bugscope TeamBRMS I just gave you control of the 'scope
• Bugscope TeamI am at the SEM itself, so I can drive using the 'scope controls rather than the online controls
• Bugscope Teambe sure to let us know whenever you have questions for us

• 12:27 pm
• Bugscope Teamthis is the dragonfly wing, at low mag
• Bugscope Teamalthough it is transparent, the electron beam cannot penetrate it; it sees only the surface
• TeacherWhy is the dragonfly wing in sections?
  Bugscope Teamthe wing has veins that go through it, and that is what we are seeing now; having different sections makes the wing stronger, as well
• TeacherWhy does the dragonfly wing jave little hooks
  Bugscope Teamthe hooks dissuade small animals from biting the wing, and they also likely help keep the wing from sticking down onto a wet surface
• Teacherso they have a closed circulatory system?
  Bugscope Teamnot really, but insects can force hemolymph (their 'blood') into areas they choose
• Bugscope Teamwhen a butterfly wants to uncoil its proboscis so it cna extend into a flower, it pushes hemolymph into it and blows it outward like a party favor
• 12:33 pm
• Teacherdo insects have red blood
  Bugscope Teamusually their blood is transparent, but when we squish insects we often see yellow fluids that may come from the gut, for example
• Bugscope Teaminside the body they have an open circulatory system'

• Bugscope TeamPanther I gave you control of the 'scope
• Bugscope Teamthis is something we have not seen before
• Teacherhow fast does the fly fly?
  Bugscope Teamthey fly perhaps 25 mph and sometimes more
• TeacherWhat is it?
  Bugscope Teamit looks like a spiracle on the face between the eye and the front of the head, but I don't know -- we've never seen it before
• Bugscope Teamit's low on the face, but certainly we would have seen it before

• 12:38 pm
• Teachercan flies do anything besides fly? like walk?
  Bugscope Teamyes they can!
• Bugscope Teamhere we see two of the six limbs
• Studenthow many eggs does a female dragonfly deliver?
  Bugscope Teamsupposedly as many as 100,000 at a time; I am not sure that is accurate
• Teacheris your job fun and cool to do everyday?
  Bugscope Teamlike any job some things are difficult to deal with, but we get to see the coolest stuff and work with the nicest equipment, plus we train people to image their samples, of all kinds, so we learn new stuff all of the time

• Teacherhow long can a fly live?
  Bugscope TeamI think they average several weeks once they become adults
• Bugscope Teamthey are said to average 21 days
• 12:44 pm

• Teacherwhen does the fly machure?
  Bugscope TeamIt takes maybe 10 or 11 days from egg to adult fly
• Teacherwhat's that white thing by the fly's pinchers
  Bugscope Teamwhat we see now is the fly's mouthparts
• StudentDo you think the mystery spot is a scab over a tear?
  Bugscope Teamnot sure at all
• Teacherhow does the fly eat?
  Bugscope Teammany flies have sponging mouthparts; they salivate on their food and then suck it up as a liquid

• StudentHow long does it take for a dragonfly egg hatch?
  Bugscope Teamit can take 4 hours to become a nymph, but from there it varies; it is possible according to what I read that it could take four years to mature, including an extended lifespan under water
• 12:49 pm
• Teacherwhere does a fly like to lay it's eggs?
  Bugscope Teamsometimes right in manure; really it depends. some flies mature in dead animals
• StudentWhy do ants have hair?
  Bugscope Teamthe hair, called setae, helps them sense their environment -- not only touch but also hot/cold and smell
• Teacheris that little thing on the head an ear or is it anyother eye?
  Bugscope TeamI will take the mag up so you can see the eye
• Bugscope Teamthis is one of the ant
• Bugscope Team's compound eyes
• Bugscope Teaminsects usually do not have ears; praying mantises have one central ear, however
• Studenthow many eys does it have?
  Bugscope Teamthere are two compound eyes, and in this case there are 20 or so ommatidia -- the individual facets of the eye
• StudentDo ants have ears?
  Bugscope Teamno they don't; they can sense vibration, which is what sound is, using their setae
• StudentHow long is a size of a booklice?
  Bugscope Teamthey are said to be about a 16th of an inch, so a millmeter-plus; there are 25.5 mm per inche
• Teacherhow big can an ant get up to size?
  Bugscope TeamI think some get to nearly 2 inches long. That would be scary.
• 12:55 pm

• Bugscope Teamyeah the largest ants are around 4 cm long, not quite 2 inches

• Bugscope Teamthis is a small spider
• Studentwhat is the most common food the spider eats?
  Bugscope Teamthey are predatory, almost exclusively, so it would be small insects and other spiders
• Studenthow many hairs on the spiders body?
  Bugscope Teamthousands, and most are sensory. some spiders also have urticating hairs that they release when something is bothering them
• Teacherhow fast does a butterfly fly
  Bugscope Teamfrom perhaps 5 to 15 miles per hour; some people say 30 mph
• StudentWhy do fly's eyes show more than 1 reflection?
  Bugscope Teamthe individual facets face different directions so they can see clearly all around them. so they do not reflect all the same things
• Bugscope Team'urticating' means itching; it is often tarantulas that release urticating hairs
• 1:00 pm
• Bugscope Teamthis is a female spider, most likely, because it has small dainty palps in front of its face; those of males are more bulbous

• StudentWhy is it so hard to catch a fly?
  Bugscope Teamtheir eyes see almost all the way around them, and compound eyes are very sensitive to motion, more than our eyes; also, flies can sense the wind from your hand when you try to smack them

• StudentWhat typ of spider is it?
  Bugscope TeamI'm sorry I am not sure. It is a small brown spider.
• Bugscope Teamnow we see, in a way, why flies can see us so well

• Bugscope Teamthese are the spider's fangs, going left and right, crossed over themselves
• Bugscope Teamspiders inject venom into their prey that dissolves the inner organs of the prey; then they suck it all back up like a milkshake
• Bugscope Teamthe fangs are attached to the vertical elements, left and right, called chelicers, or chelicerae
• Bugscope Teamthe chelicerae are muscular, and they also have venom glands inside them
• Bugscope Teamso the two big things we see now in the middle are the chelicerae
• 1:05 pm
• Bugscope Teamthe one on the left is obscured by a palp, or pedipalp
• Bugscope Teamwhen a spider bites, it spreads the chelicerae
• TeacherAre you an entymologist?
  Bugscope TeamI am an electron microscopist. When I went to college I got a degree in Biology and in English - so in a way I am more an etymologist than an entomologist
• TeacherIs the venom injected the same way a butterfly extends it's proboscus?
  Bugscope Teamhey that is a good question; I am not sure, but it must have some way of forcing the venom out and then sucking the liquefied food back in
• Bugscope Teamwe work with entomologists as much as possible and ask them lots of questions
• Bugscope TeamI have been doing this for 13 years so know many of the answers
• Bugscope Teamnow we can see a few of the spider's eyes
• Bugscope Teamspiders have simple eyes -- not compound eyes like many insects
• Bugscope Teammost spiders do not see very well, but some do see quite well
• TeacherWe are switching periods now so a new group will be coming in!
  Bugscope Teamgreat!
• 1:10 pm

• Bugscope Teamwe just found a bunch of mold spores on one of the spider's legs
• Bugscope Teamthey look a lot like pollen grains

• 1:16 pm
• Bugscope Teamhello SSAS and MSA!
• Bugscope Teamplease let us know whenever you have questions

• StudentHow old were you when you became a scientist?
  Bugscope TeamI liked biology in high school, but when I went to college I majored in English. I decided maybe English teachers were too weird, often, so I added biology in college. It took me forever -- I dropped out for a few years. I think I was 26 when I was done and out in the world.
• Studentwhat are the dots on the leg
  Bugscope Teamlet's go look! I think they are oil or dirt

• Bugscope Teamyeah this looks like some kind of dirt that is oily in texture

• 1:22 pm

• Studentwhat are those WIERD THINGS
  Bugscope Teamthose are mold spores on the spider's body

• Studentoh ok:)

• Bugscope Teamso I used my English degree in science. I also helped other scientists write grant proposals.
• Studentwhat is your favorite part of being a scientist?

• Studentdo insects have finger nails
  Bugscope Teamtheir bodies are covered with a chitin shell that is kind of like fingernails, and some of their claws and fangs, for example, are hardened chitin, much like fingernails

• StudentHow do spiders get mold
  Bugscope Teamjust from being in a moist environment, and likely after they die
• Studenthow big does a spideris get
  Bugscope Teamthey can get as big as your hand, but not usually in temperate zones
• Teachercan we see a dragonfly
  Bugscope Teamthe dragonfly was missing its head and legs, so I put only the wing in the 'scope today

• StudentDid the spider die naturally? Or was it from getting squashed or something?
  Bugscope TeamI think this one did. We hope to find them soon after they die before fungus, mold, and bacteria make them rot.
• 1:27 pm

• Student?
• StudentHow come the wing looks like a spider web?
  Bugscope Teamthe wing veins form that pattern

• Studentwhat is that hole on the wing
  Bugscope TeamI think I poked it with a pair of forceps

• StudentHow long do dragonflys live
  Bugscope Teamthey are said to live as long as 4 years!

• StudentHow do you know what gender it is?
• Studentdo insecst pee?
  Bugscope Teamthey usually poop more than pee. the poop is called frass. it is important to stay hydrated if you are an insect, so they don't pee quite as much -- they retain the water
• Studentabout how big is the wing\
  Bugscope Teamthis was about an inch long
• Bugscope Teamdragonflies have four wings; bees and wasps do as well, but they hook the fore- and hindwings together when they fly
• StudentWhere do insects sleep? Do they ever sleep?
  Bugscope Teamthey may not actually sleep, but they go into a state called somnolence that is like sleeping, sort of
• StudentIs it true that every time a fly lands, it vomits and/or poop?
  Bugscope Teamsome of them seem to, but I don't think it is exactly true

• GuestI'd like to say hallo to everybody, who is taking part in this session. I'm physycist from University of Lodz (central Poland) and joined this session as guest. I'm impressed by your involvement and curiosity. Congratulations for You ALL, the Teachers too and 'scope Crew of course
• Studenthow do insects fly
• Teacherwelcome poland
• StudentWelcom Poland
• StudentWelcome Poland!
• StudentHow come more male dragonflies have more color than the female dragonflies?
  Bugscope Teamoften there is what is called a dimorphism in insects. although 'morph' refers to shape, sometimes people call it color dimorphism. the males may have colors to attract the females, but the females don't need to attract the males
• 1:33 pm
• StudentWELCOME POLAND:)!!!!

• StudentCan we see an earwigg?
  Bugscope Teamokay here we go!

• Studentdo you have maggots
  Bugscope Teamnot today; the closest we have is the ladybug larvae

• Bugscope Teamthis is the head of the earwig you sent

• Studentcan we see a scorpions pointer
  Bugscope Teamif you go to google and type Bugscope scorpion stinger you can find one we have located in the past. we don't have any on the stub today
• StudentDo you have ladybugs?
  Bugscope Teamyes we do, both adults and larvae

• Teachercan we see a frog
  Bugscope Teamif we had a frog it would have to be very dry

• StudentCAN WE SEE THE TAIL OF THE EAR WIG
  Bugscope Teamyes we are headed in that direction now

• Teacherdo you have a tail of an earwig
  Bugscope Teamyes we do!

• Bugscope Teamthis is the earwig's abdomen

• StudentWhy are some ladybugs red, and others like yellow or orange?
  Bugscope Teamit depends in part on what they eat, and where they live, and their genes, of course

• Bugscope Teamthese are the earwig's cercopods -- the pincers

• Bugscope Teamthis is a female earwig

• 1:38 pm
• Studenthow dose the ear wig open and closes its tail ?
  Bugscope Teamit has muscles on the inside of the body that allow it to do that

• StudentDo earwigs have muscles? If so how many? (estimate is fine)
  Bugscope Teamthe insides of insect bodies have muscles in them that operate all of the limbs and jaws and antennae, etc. So lots of muscles. they even have muscles in their heads

• Studentwhat animals do bugs chase most?
  Bugscope Teamprobably mosquitoes and flies chasing cattle, or maybe smaller mammals?
• StudentWill you please show us the ladybug larave after this earwig?

• StudentHow do you know its a female ?
  Bugscope Teamthe males have curved cercopods, whereas those of females are straight

• Bugscope Teamlots of debris on the surface of the cercopods

• 1:43 pm

• Studentwhy does the picture have no color
  Bugscope Teamwe are using a $600,000 scanning electron microscope, and you might ask why if it's so expensive does it not show color. but it is because we are using electrons rather than light to see what we see. electrons are super tiny, smaller than the wavelengths of light. what we see comes to us as secondary electron *signal*,. not light

• Studentwhat is a cercopods?
  Bugscope Teamthose are what the earwig's pincers are called
• StudentCan we see a ladybug?
  Bugscope Teamyes!

• Studenthow much can a fly eat
  Bugscope Teamnot much compared to us; it sucks its food up as a liquid; horseflies have slashing mouthparts rather than sponging mouthparts like a housefly, but they still drink their food (blood)

• Studenthow come earwigs are called earwigs?
  Bugscope Teamsupposedly they go into your head via your ears, but that is not very likely
• Studentis it true from bugs life the movie that flys only live 24 hours
  Bugscope Teamthere are many species of flies, and some as adults may live only a few hours -- like mayflies

• Teachercan we see it's eye?
  Bugscope Teamit's in the middle now
• Studentcan we see the pincer
  Bugscope Teamsorry we were there a minute ago...
• StudentWhy does ladybugs have dots ?
  Bugscope Teamthe dots likely help call attention to the ladybug, which is colored so it will stand out as a warning not to eat it -- that it tastes bad.
• Studentcool
• 1:48 pm
• Studenthow do u know the insects age
  Bugscope Teamwe don't always know, but we make educated guesses
• Studenthow come earwigs are called earwigs?
  Bugscope Teambecause when people slept on straw/hay, they would often be in the straw/hay and crawl in your ear because they like the moist area
• Studenthow big do fly get
  Bugscope Teamprobably not much larger than your thumb, although it depends on what kind of fly. craneflies, for example, which look like enormous mosquitoes, are larger than that.
  Bugscope Teama housefly is medium sized. There is a fly in britain that is about 60 mm long and is a wasp mimic
• Studenthow high can grass hoppers jump?
  Bugscope TeamI think the large ones can jump several yards, but the adults have wings and can thus also fly
• TeacherDoes the female or the male eaewig usaully live longer?
  Bugscope Teamnot sure about earwigs, probably about the same. female earwigs are said to care for their young, so they may live longer
• StudentWho lives longer the female or the male ?
  Bugscope Teamoften the females live longer in the insect world
• TeacherCan you get a disease if a earwig crawls into you ear? what would happen.
  Bugscope Teamyou most likely won't get a disease. It would just be annoying until you get the insect out. My sister-in-law had a small moth that flew in her ear and got stuck. The sound of the buzzing was annoying to her. She had to go to the hospital to get it removed
• StudentHow do you change bugs so quickly ?
  Bugscope Teamthe insects are all on a 1.75-inch stage inside the scanning electron microscope, and we located some of the cool places before the session, so the 'scope has to drive only short distances to those areas
• GuestAs physycist cant resist to ask one question: How big magnification is available on this microscope? How "close" can we go and observe this creatures? Anybody from students know the answer?
  Bugscope TeamThis microscope can resolve things as small as 2 nanometers. It can magnify around 200,000x and still get a decent image. It can magnify up to a million x but it won't look any good

• 1:53 pm

• StudentIs that hair? Those little strands of white all over.
  Bugscope Teamyes it is. They are setae, or insect hairs

• StudentWhy did you become a scientist?
  Bugscope TeamI became a scientist because I was good at science (and math) in school. I like learning about it and seeing what new technologies are brought about
• StudentDoes all the insects have eggs?
  Bugscope TeamI think almost all of them do, but likely there are some that have a sort of live birth
• Teacherit only goes 200000
  Bugscope Teamit's probably a safety feature in the programming

• Studentwhat is the wierdest insect you analised
  Bugscope TeamI like weevils, leafhoppers, and mites (which are not insects)
• GuestThanks Cate ;-) I hoped to get the answer from students, because was curious hou much they know about electron microscopy ;-)
  Bugscope TeamOh sorry

• StudentHow many eggs minimum do insects have?
  Bugscope Teamsome produce only a few eggs, but most produce hundreds and thousands in an effort to let the very few that don't get eaten or dried up survive.
• Studentthank you
• Teacherthank you!!!!!!!
• Bugscope Team when we use the microscope for research we operate it a bit differently; in particular we work much closer to the samples
• Studentthanks for answering all of our questions :)
• StudentTHANK YOU
• Studentthank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• 1:58 pm
• StudentWe are leaving now :)) 7th period will be next
• TeacherThe next class will be 7th, the last
• Studentthank you
• Bugscope Teamthanks for joining us today!
• Teacherthank you for this awesome learning experience!!!!
• Student yolo
• Bugscope TeamThank You, Everyone!
• GuestThank you! Great job!
• 2:05 pm
• GuestDear SEM Crew - Can I ask you some questions about this project?
  Bugscope Teamcertainly
• GuestI'm physicist working on University and trying to teach future physics teachers.
• Bugscope Teamcool!
• Bugscope Teamwe are lucky to have this kind of platform to work from
• GuestThat why I'm interesting not only in veiwing bugs but in educational process even more.
• Bugscope Teamwhat we have found is that for our audience as well as the piece of equipment we are using, insects and other arthropods like them are more likely to sustain interest than anything else
• GuestIt's great oportunity for kids to take part in classes like this. Do they do it mainly during school activities?
  Bugscope Teamwe work with schools, after school clubs, libraries, museums, school districts that are holding science nights, etc.
• 2:10 pm
• Bugscope Teamso yes this is almost all school related
• GuestYeah... do whatever you can to keep students involved and then teh can do something interesting in the future ;-)
• GuestAs I told you previously I'm finishing my thesis about remote experimenting, and part of it is interactiwe windtunnel which was built.
• GuestDifferent area of interest (but not completly) but similar methodology ;-)
• Bugscope Teamwe want to show kids another life form, and we want to pique their interest, give them an opportunity to think about what they are seeing and then ask any questions that come to mind. we want to ensure that we are very approachable.
• TeacherWe're back with the last group of students !
• Bugscope Teamhi everyone!
• Studentwere 7th peiod
• Bugscope Teamwe are looking at a beetle right now
• Bugscope Teamthe antenna on the left is broken as you can see. When insects dry out, their limbs become fragile and can break off easily
• GuestThank you once again for hospitality. Good luck for everyone!
• 2:15 pm
• Bugscope Teamthanks Pawel
• Bugscope Teamthe jaws of the beetle are in the middle of the viewing area
• Studentthank you
• StudentThat's really intresting
• Studenthow do antennas help beetles live
  Bugscope Teamthey work by giving them sensory information- it could be sounds, touch, chemical feedback like taste/smell
• Studentdoes a beetle's eye have lenses like a fly?
  Bugscope Teamyes, they are called compound eyes, meaning they are made of multiple lenses called ommatidia
• Bugscope Teamyou can see the bumps from here, which are the ommatidia

• Studentwhy is everything in black and white?
  Bugscope Teamwe aren't using light to image. We are using electrons. Really just a signal from a detector that is reading the electrons bouncing back from the sample

• StudentWhat are the ommatidia?
  Bugscope Teamommatidia are the individual facets (lenses) of the eye
• StudentCool. Do you know how many lenses an average beetle has in one eye
  Bugscope Teamthis one looks like it has maybe a couple hundred
• StudentThank You!
• Studentwhy do beetles have dots on their eyes
  Bugscope Teamthe dots we see are the ommatidia, each of which produces its own image
• Bugscope Teamsome wasps have as many as 17,000 ommatidia in one compound eye
• TeacherAre the little bumps the eye ball?
  Bugscope Teamyes they are!
• 2:21 pm
• Bugscope Teammany flying insects also have three 'simple' eyes, called ocelli, on the back of the head
• Studentwhat do insects normally eat as a diet
  Bugscope Teamthey eat anything that is remotely edible; some eat other insects

• Studentwhat colors do beetles see in.
  Bugscope Teamit depends in a way which beetles they are; they can see most of the colors, usually, and sometimes they can see ultraviolet wavelengths as well. we cannot see UV
• StudentHow do beetles and other animals walk up walls?
  Bugscope Teamthey sometimes have pads of setae, which are hairs, at the ends of their legs by the claws. These pads of hair are different from the other hairs on their bodies. They help them walk on vertical surfaces

• Bugscope Teambees are said not to see red very well
• StudentDoes every eye have a lense, or one big lense?
  Bugscope Teameach one is a lens
• Studentwe are seveenth period and i have one more question
  Bugscope Teamcool!
• Studentwhat is ultra violet please answer
  Bugscope Teamit's just shorter than visible light in spectrum. It would be before violet.
• Studentis that hair on its head and what is it used for
  Bugscope Teamthe hair, which in insects is called 'setae,' helps with thermoregulation (keeping a normal temperature) as well as touch and hot/cold sensing, as well as helping other bees identify them
• Studentwhy do bees have different color . black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow where do they get the colors black and yellow black and yellow black and yellow
• 2:26 pm
• Studentwhy do bee stings hurt
  Bugscope Teamit is a component of the venom that hurts. The stinger itself is very sharp and small, like getting a sliver of wood in your finger
• StudentWhy do wasps have hair?
  Bugscope Teaminsects do not have skin; instead they have a shell made of chitin, which is kind of like armor. so the hairs poke through that armor and help the insects sense their environment
• Students
• Studentis it possiable that insects can be conjoined?
  Bugscope Teamyou mean live their lives stuck together? I think it is certainly possible with some insects
• TeacherWhat are the bald spots between the wasp's antenna?
  Bugscope Teamthose are ocelli, a set of 3 simple eyes. They read the direction of the sun and help navigate it
• StudentWhat is the average life span of a wasp?
  Bugscope Teamaverage is probably six weeks; some much shorter and some longer
• Studentthank you scot
  Bugscope Teamwith insects we find out new things all of the time, and there are so many that almost anything is possible

• StudentSo the hairs on the wasp are how they sense things, like we have five senses?
  Bugscope Teamyes that's right!
  Bugscope Teaminsects make much more use of chemosenses than we do; that is, they interpret chemical signals the way we interpret words

• 2:31 pm
• StudentWhen you magnify the insect with the electrons and then you touch it will it electrocute you or be hot?
  Bugscope Teamno, at least that has never happened to me before. I think either we don't hit them with a high enough dose to have anything like that happen or they just dissipate before we can touch them. In some cases while we are imaging a sample we do notice that it is 'boiling', but those are usually samples that aren't very conductive for the electrons.
• Studentcan wasps get a scab
  Bugscope TeamNot like we get scabs. But I have seen dead insects where they had bled out and the blood dried, covering the wound.
• Studentwhy do bee's die after the first sting?
  Bugscope Teamthey die when their stinger gets caught in thick mammalian skin like ours because it gets pulled out of the body, and there is a big hole so they basically bleed to death. if a bee stings another insect it does not lose its stinger and does not die

• StudentHow do dragonfly's fly when they have four wings?
  Bugscope TeamI think it is because of the timing and position of the wings so that they do not interfere with each other

• Bugscope Teamthe hole is probably where we accidentally stuck the point of the pair of forceps through the wing
• Bugscope Teamnote that the wing is not transparent to the electron beam, but if we were to see it it would look clear to us
• TeacherIn the wings
• Bugscope Teamof course the wing is coated with gold-palladium now, so it looks silver in normal room light
• StudentWhy do dragonflys have segments on their wings?
  Bugscope Teamthose partitions in the wings probably help strengthen the wing
• Studentcan they get diseases
  Bugscope Teamyes they can get sick like we can, just not with the same diseases
• 2:36 pm
• Studenthow long do dragonflys live
  Bugscope TeamI was surprised to read that they could live 4 years or so. that is in part because they may have a long period during which they are aquatic.
• StudentWhat is the diet of a dragonfly?
  Bugscope Teamthey eat other insects

• Bugscope Teamthis is the fly you sent
• TeacherWhy does the dragonfly have hooks in it?
  Bugscope Teamwe think the hooks, which are kind of like thorns, help keep animals and other insects from chewing the wings. but it is also likely that having projections from the wings keeps them from adhering to wet surfaces
  Bugscope Teamthey do fight, so the thorns might help with scratching up the other insects' wings
• StudentAbout how big are the sphericals on a fly?
  Bugscope Teamthe thoracic spiracles may be quite large, maybe a millimeter in diameter on a large fly
• Bugscope Teamyou can already see that this fly has thousands of ommatidia per eye
• Studentwhat is the horn on top of the flys head
  Bugscope Teamthat is part of one of the antennae
• Studentwhat is that in the picture people is it a tube or a tongue
  Bugscope Teamit's the tongue
• StudentDoes the fly have hair for the same reason that the wasp had?
  Bugscope Teamyes. It makes insects a lot hairier than they seem
• TeacherWhat do flys mainly eat?
  Bugscope Teamthey eat liquids, sometimes blood and sometimes sugary things like nectar from flowers
• Studenthow long does it take for a bee to form?
  Bugscope TeamI think usually a few weeks from the egg stage

• 2:42 pm
• Studenton the flys eye how many little lenses do they have?
  Bugscope Teamprobably is the range of thousands this time. Many more than the beetle in the beginning
• TeacherCan a fly bite like a mosquito?
  Bugscope Teama mosquito is a kind of fly, but I am not sure which other flies have that kind of mouthparts. horseflies have slashing/cutting mouthparts, which is why it really hurts when they bite
• TeacherWhat are the hooks on the arms for?
  Bugscope Teamthose are claws. They are like hands for insects
• Studentdo flies get diseases
  Bugscope Teamyes. I think any insect can get a disease, but the diseases that affect them don't travel to humans.

• StudentAbout how fast does a fly's wings beat?
  Bugscope TeamI think an average is 400 to 500 beats per second, some faster and some slower
• Bugscope TeamI have read 50 t0 2000 beats per second. 50 seems so slow...
• Studentcan insects pea
  Bugscope Teamyes but usually they poop more than pee because they save moisture
• Bugscope Teaminsect poop is called frass. in flies it is called flyspecks, sometimes
• Studentcan a fly be born with only one antena?
  Bugscope Teami think it would be possible, but I don't know how well it would survive
• Bugscope Teamit's funny how often we get asked that
• StudentAre those the legs by the fly's face?
  Bugscope Teamyes they are
• 2:48 pm
• Studentwhere do the magority of the insects live
  Bugscope Teammost live in temperate and tropical enivronments, but they live almost everywhere that it is not too cold for long
• StudentAre those claws on its feet?
  Bugscope Teamyes they are!
• StudentWhat do they use the claws for?
• Studenthow many sets of wings do fly's have
  Bugscope Teamonly one set of wings. flies are in the family Diptera, which means 'two wings'
• Studentthank you
• Studentdo flys have a heart? if they do is it fast or slower than a human?
  Bugscope Teamthey have something like a heart. They have no veins or arteries. It is an open circulatory system. The heart is part a single long blood vessel the runs along the body
• Bugscope Teamflies have what is called a haltere that balances the motion of the wing -- one on each side
• Studentwhats the biggest insect
• Studentare there any poisonous flies
  Bugscope Teamyes there are! tsetse flies give you sleeping sickness, for example
• StudentWhat do they use the claws for?
  Bugscope Teamthey use them to hold on to things
• Studenthow long does a fly live?
  Bugscope Teamthey can live on average around a month
• TeacherHow fast can flies fly?
  Bugscope TeamI have read that they can fly 15 mph
• StudentIs there anything else we should know that we did not ask?
• Studentthank you very much. i hope we can do this again bye
• 2:53 pm
• Studentthank you for answering our questions
• Studentthanks again
• StudentThanks for all your scientific help! We really appriciate this! This was really fun and cool!
• Teacherthank you ]
• StudentBye thank you for everything
• Bugscope Teamthe fairyfly is the smallest insect, and it is a wasp. They also have the most painful sting
• TeacherGood bye this was really fun and informing! thanks!
• Teachersank you
• StudentBye :)
• TeacherHow fast is the fastest bug in the world? Also thank you.
  Bugscope Teamdragonflies are reported to be the fastest, with speeds of 36mph
• Bugscope Teamthe largest insect is probably the largest stick insect, which can get to 21 or so inches in length

• StudentThis was very fun thank you! :)
• Bugscope Teami think you are right Scot
• Bugscope Teamthere is an insect called a giant weta (looks like a big cricket) that is said to be the heaviest
• Bugscope TeamThank You!
• Bugscope TeamYes this was fun for us as well.
• TeacherThank you so much for this experience, the students were very enaged and curious.
• Bugscope TeamThank You!
• 2:58 pm
• Bugscope TeamPawel are you still here?
• TeacherWe are logging off now. We will send you pictures and our classroom experience.
• Bugscope Teamhttps://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2011-184