Connected on 2012-06-27 06:30:00
from Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
- 5:31 am
- Bugscope Teamventing the microscope
- Bugscope Teamand sample is pumping down
- 5:43 am
- Bugscope Team'scope pumped down quickly, and we are making presets
- Bugscope Teamgood morning! Welcome to Bugscope!
- 5:48 am
- TeacherHello All, Just checking in here. Good morning to you all. I know it is before 6 AM.
- Bugscope Teamtotally cool
- Bugscope Teamthis ant has a pollen grain stuck under her chin
- TeacherWe may get people from Colombo and US logging in remotely as well.
Bugscope Teamall good DaddyO
- TeacherWe will start at 5 PM here (6:30 AM there). I have a few slides to set the context and then we go live!
- TeacherSo, we have five bugs?
Bugscope Teamwe have 10 or 12 bugs and will see what looks best for today's session
- TeacherThis is great, thanks, Scott!
- 5:53 am
- TeacherI may be in and out so that I can get the audience inside. Be back shortly.
- Bugscope Teamtotally cool we will be working on the presets
- TeacherThat is good, I think I would like to emphasize this preset work as well.
- 5:58 am
- 6:04 am
- Bugscope Teamalmost centered, right now, is the mouth
- TeacherScott, just checking here. Can I try to control , so that I know this is all okay.
Bugscope Teamlooks like you've got it
- TeacherOkay, thanks, Scott! Go ahead and work on the presets. I am getting people inside the Embass.
- Bugscope Teamgood deal, shortening your screen name
- 6:09 am
- Bugscope Teamwell it's either too early in the morning or too late for this moth
- Bugscope Teamlooks like Phyllis Diller
- 6:15 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is a male mosquito
- 6:20 am
- Bugscope Teamand this is a spider, lying sideways
- Bugscope Teamnow a small moth
- Bugscope Teamhello Upuli!
- Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
- Guesthello
Bugscope Teamthis right now is pollen from a stargazer lily
- 6:27 am
- Bugscope Teamand looking for bacteria right now...
- Bugscope Teamthey are sparse, so far
- TeacherScott, we are done with the slides. And, we are going live. Hello UPULI: Where are you from?
- 6:32 am
- Bugscope TeamCool!
- Bugscope Teamthis is a very small ant, from my house
- Guestcolombo
- Bugscope Teamyou can see its compound eye, and its antennae, as well as its mandibles
- Bugscope Teamthe ants we see are almost all females
- Bugscope Teamwhen we see ants with wings, those are either males or you have found the queen ant
- Bugscope Teamthis is what the antenna looks like, up close\
- Teacher*for
- Bugscope Teamants get most of their information about the environment via chemical signals
- TeacherZoe: What are the hairs o the legs or?
Bugscope Teamthe hairs, which we often called 'setae,' help insects sense their environment
- Bugscope Teamhairs can be mechanoreceptors, for touch and sensing air currents
- GuestWhat a beautiful image! Hello from California, USA.
- 6:37 am
- Bugscope Teamthey can also be chemoreceptors, sensing chemical scents in the air or by touch
- Teacherkasey;is that a spiders leg or what?
Bugscope Teamthis is the antenna of a very small ant
- Bugscope Teamnow you can see it better
- Bugscope Teamdo you recognize this?
- Teacheremily: how many hairs are there?
Bugscope Teamthere are thousands of hairs, too many to count
- TeacherHello Michele!
- Guesthello Dr. Thakkar!
- Bugscope Teamsome of the hairs we see are called tenent setae
- GuestNice programme, very clear pictures
- Bugscope Teamlike these very delicate setae on the 'pulvillus,' which is a pad of sticky hairs usually near the claw
- GuestAmazing images! This is very interesting!
- TeacherUPULI: Where did you find out about this program?
- Bugscope Teamthis is how insects and comparable arthropods climb on walls and on the ceiling
- TeacherGood morning,Professor Korb!
- Bugscope Teamthese tiny setae stick to surfaces but can also be pulled off when the insect wants to move
- 6:43 am
- Bugscope Teamnow you can see where we were
- GuestWhat is the magnification on this? My screen says only 29x
Bugscope Teampresently it is 296X
- Bugscope TeamHi Michele!
- GuestHI Bugscope team!
- Bugscope Teamthe beetle is saluting
- GuestSalute!
- Bugscope Teamthis is the beetle antenna
- TeacherWe are tryingto get to the beetle head but it is not accepting. Is there a delay?
Bugscope Teamwe were just at the beetle head
- Bugscope Teamit looks like someone clicked a whole bunch of times, and there is a backlog of messages asking the 'scope to do lots of things
- Guestare they alive?
Bugscope Teamno they are dead and very dry
- TeacherGii: How does fire fly light up?
Bugscope Teamthe firefly has a chemical called luciferin in its abdomen, and it can activate it when it wishes, often to attract female fireflies
- TeacherGot it, thanks, Scott. The caption on the top of the image is still saying spider. Hence, the qustion. Okay, we will wait.
- 6:48 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is the fly claw
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that it has the same kind of pad, called a pulvillus, as the beetle, but it is closer to the claws
- GuestI wonder if anyone is inventing shoes or climbing gear for people like the insect pulvillus yet....walking on walls would be fun.
- GuestAside from Mission Impossible gloves.....
- Bugscope Teamgeckos have their own version of tenent setae that are about 10 times smaller
- TeacherKen: Why do bugs eat poop?
Bugscope Teamnot all bugs eat poop, but some do of course, and it is because there are still some useful nutrients in waste material
- 6:53 am
- Bugscope Teamwhen we study insects we find that they are the ultimate recyclers, or you could say that they take advantage of every possibility to feed and survive
- TeacherIs there a way to get to the bet
- TeacherKen: Why do bugs fly?
Bugscope Teamflying is helpful, for example in aphids, when they have exhausted the resources they are currently feeding upon. flying also helps spread a species around and ensures its survival, or at least gives it a much better chance
- Teacherbeetle head?
- Bugscope Teamthe beetle has an aphid stuck to it, just below its mouth
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the beetle's mandibles, and its compound eyes, as well as parts of its antennae
- Bugscope Teamyou can also see its palps -- two sets of palps, which are accessory mouthparts
- TeacherCharlene: How long is the normal life-span of a bug? Is there an average?
Bugscope Teamprobably about 6 weeks. the range is from a day or so for an adult mayfly to 17 years or so for a cicada
- 6:58 am
- Bugscope Teamhere we can see two kinds of palps
- TeacherNatasha: What happens to bugs after they bite you (and blood comes out)?
Bugscope Teamdeerflies and horseflies can slurp up your blood after cutting you with the slashing mouthparts
- TeacherKen: What do bugs eat?
Bugscope Teamthey eat anything that is edible, from plant parts of all types, to liquids such as nectar and sap, to other insects, to dead animals, and even paper
- Bugscope TeamNatasha when a female mosquito bites you, it sucks blood into its body that then gives it enough protein to lay eggs successfully
- TeacherNatasha: I have seen mosquito bite you and get your blood. Then they die.
Bugscope Teamthey die when you smash them, of course, but some of them bite you and get away; they then go to a small puddle of water to lay their eggs
- GuestThese are really fantastic questions, Embassy guests!
- Bugscope TeamPlease let me know when you would like me to drive to another location. For some reason I can control the 'scope only from the console.
- 7:04 am
- TeacherScott, pleae go ahead an dcontrol and then type.
- TeacherPeopel here want to see beetle and mosquito
- Teacherwhat are we seeing?
Bugscope Teamthis is one of the beetle's limb joints
- Bugscope Teamnow we see the beetle a bit better -- a low mag view
- GuestInteresting engineering design of that limb joint.
Bugscope Teamball and socket joints
- GuestAnd what would they say if they could chat online? :)
- TeacherKen: How do bugs talk to each other?
Bugscope Teamthere is a variety of ways, of course; many use chemical signals, such as pheromones and trails of scent; some use visual signals, such as fireflies, and insects may perform specific movements...
- Bugscope Teammany insects, as we know, are attracted by noise
- 7:09 am
- TeacherEmily: How do we know if the bug is a male or female?
Bugscope Teamsometimes we can tell, for example now, because a male mosquito has more frilly antennae than a female. with flies, the eyes of males are often close together whereas those of females are far apart. sometimes the females are much larger. if an insect has a stinger, it is a female because stingers are modified ovipositors
- TeacherWhat are we seeing?
Bugscope Teamthis is male mosquito
- Bugscope Teamthe compound eyes are wrinkled and caved in, I am sorry
- Bugscope Teamthe larger round things at the bases of the antennae are called pedicels
- Bugscope Teammosquitoes are covered with scales, and one purpose of the scales is to protect them from getting caught in spider webs
- Bugscope TeamEmily often we cannot tell a male from a female insect from the outside. So it really depends on the insect. Ants are almost all females...
- 7:14 am
- Bugscope Teamas in moths, the antennae of male mosquitoes are often ornate, but they also serve a purpose in allowing the male to better track the noise from a female's wings or they have chemoreceptors that help them pick up pheromones from the females
- TeacherWhat are we seeing?
Bugscope Teamthat is the male mosquito antenna
- GuestLooks like a glamorous hair style ;)
Bugscope Teamyes it does, all in an attempt to track down and attract, presumably, females
- GuestWell done, Mr. Mosquito.
- GuestHe would get attention in San Francisco :)
- TeacherNatasha: Does a bee or wasp die after they bite ou?
Bugscope Teama honeybee would die if it stung a person, or a mammal, but not if it stung another insect
- Bugscope Teamwasps can sting repeatedly; it does not kill them to sting. but with honeybees, the stinger gets caught in thick mammalian skin and pulled out of the honeybee's body, which means that it then has a big hole in it and it bleeds to death
- TeacherCameron: Why would a honeybee not die if it stung another insect
Bugscope Teamif it stings another insect, its stinger does not get caught in that insect's cuticle, so it can keep its stinger and sting again
- 7:20 am
- Bugscope Teamcuticle is what we call the surface of the exoskeleton of the insect; it is made of chitin, which is kind of like what our fingernails are made of
- TeacherBenjamin: How many times does a female mosquito have to bite a person in order for its' eggs to be fertilized?
Bugscope Teamit just needs one good blood meal; the eggs are already fertilized, but this ensures that there is enough protein to lay them successfully, so they will live
- Bugscope Teamso after the female breeds, she is ravenous for blood
- Guestvampires
Bugscope Teamyes! only a few mosquito species do not need blood
- TeacherScott: Thanks so much. I appreciate this early AM demo. Thanks, Michele, Have a great morning. I will talk to you soon then.
- TeacherBenjamin: Thank you for educating all of us with these pictures of bugs.
Bugscope TeamThank you, Benjamin! (These are live images from a scanning electron microscope.).
- Bugscope Teamthis is the spider
- Bugscope Teamits head is not upright, but to the left
- 7:26 am
- TeacherScott, we are about to exit the Embassy. Thanks again. Michele, thanks much for your early morning visit.
- Bugscope TeamThank you, Everyone, for logging on today!
- GuestThanks!! It was interesting! Great questions!
