Connected on 2014-05-19 08:15:00
from Hunterdon, New Jersey, United States
- 7:11 am
- Bugscope Teamdude it is looking good, like, perfect
- Bugscope TeamNow I'm most worried about this sample pumping down.
- Guestcool, i'll take a shower and run some errands then.
- Bugscope TeamI appreciate this. Thanks, DaddyO!
- 7:29 am
- sample is pumped down and we will start making presets right away
- Bugscope Teamgood morning!
- Teachergood morning Scot
- Bugscope Teammy info shows that we connect with you live at 8:15 a.m. our time, which is 9:15 your time
- Bugscope Teamif that is not correct please let me know...
- TeacherThat is correct. So excited.
- Bugscope Teamawesome! You can see I'm just starting to make alignments and find cool stuff for your classroom
- 7:34 am
- 7:40 am
- 7:45 am
- Teachertrying to find a good image of a scanning electron microscope to show the kids when they come in.
- Bugscope Teamyou can look on the Bugscope web page. there should be an image of this 'scope
- 7:52 am
- 7:58 am
- 8:05 am
- 8:11 am
- 8:17 am
- Bugscope Teamwe are ready to roll!
- Teacherkids on their way down to the computer lab.
- Bugscope Teamawesome! cant wait
- TeacherI'd like to take is slow. Last year things went very fast. These are 1st. graders.
- Bugscope Teamsuper cool
- Bugscope Teamthis is an assassin bug. it seizes other insects and sticks its proboscis into them. then it sucks out their juices
- 8:23 am
- Bugscope Teamwe can tell when "true bugs," like this one, are predators, because their proboscises -- their pointy mouthparts -- have three sections
- TeacherWhere is the proboscic?
Bugscope Teamit's the middle part. the proboscis is like the 'snout'
Bugscope Teamit is the long conical part in the middle, as Cate says
- Bugscope Teamthey use the proboscis to drink liquids from either plants, or in this case, from other insects
- Bugscope Teamsee its round, dome-like eyes?
- Bugscope Teamit also has big scary arms that it uses to hold its prey as it plunges its proboscis into them
- Bugscope Teamyou can see its antennae at the top of the image -- where we are looking now
- Bugscope Teamthis is the tip of its proboscis
- Bugscope Teamthere are many other related insects that use their proboscis -- their piercing, sucking mouthpart -- to suck the sap from plants
- Bugscope Teamfor example, cicadas have a similar mouthpart
- 8:30 am
- Teacherdoes a mosquito have a proboscis?
Bugscope Teamyes it does, though it looks different. The mosquito has a lot more internal components- like a tube that delivers anticoagulant to keep your blood from clotting when it is drinking.
- Bugscope Teamand only female mosquitoes will bite you. They need the blood meal to reproduce
- Teacherwhat are all of those prickly things that we see?
Bugscope Teamthe big prickly things are spines that help the assassin bug hold its prey
Bugscope Teamthe very fine hairs help the assassin bug sense what it is holding
- Bugscope Teaminsects do not have bones
- Bugscope Teaminstead, they have a hard shell on the outside of their bodies that is called an 'exoskeleton.'
- Bugscope Team'exo' means 'on the outside'
- Teacheris this still the assasin bug?
- Bugscope Teamthis is a large wasp
- Teachercan we zoom in on the eyes?
- Bugscope Teamwasps and bees and ants are related; that is, they share certain features
- 8:35 am
- Bugscope Teamsee how the eye is a large rounded dome? it has lots of tiny facets, like a diamond has facets, but in this case they are like little lenses
- TeacherAwesome! Are each of those cell looking things eyes?
Bugscope Teamyes they are! they are called 'oimmatidia.'
- Bugscope Teamoops 'ommatidia'
- Bugscope Teameach of those will see some part of what's around them
- Bugscope Teama large wasp can have as many as *30,000* ommatidia in one eye!
- 8:41 am
- TeacherWow! the magnification is amazing!! Do the insects see as we do? Do each of those ommatidia see the same thing? For example, do they see in multiples? Or do they see in greater detail?
Bugscope Teamthey do not see the same colors we do; in some cases they see better than we do because they see ultraviolet light
- TeacherCan they see behind them?
Bugscope Teamoften they do! that is why they have those dome-like eyes
- Bugscope Teamalso, this is cool: the compound eyes see motion very quickly -- they update very fast
- TeacherDo the ommatidia peel? We wondered what we saw on each of those ommatidia. It looked like they were peeling.
Bugscope Teamthe ommatidia do not peel -- that was stuff that had become stuck to the surface of the eye
- Bugscope Teamthe stinkbug is also a true bug and has a proboscis like the assassin bug. but it prefers to suck the juices out of plants; it does not bite other insects or people
- TeacherHow does the probiscus suck up liquid? Does the insect actually suck in air like we do when we use a straw?
Bugscope Teamit is very much like a straw
- TeacherIs this still the wasp?
Bugscope Teamwe are on the stinkbug eye
- 8:47 am
- TeacherThat's the eye, right?
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- Bugscope Teamit's the stinkbug eye!
- TeacherWhat do the stinkbugs eat? We get a lot of them around here.]
- Bugscope Teamwhen we look at the top portion of the proboscis, we often see a ribbed tube that we think holds the suction
- Bugscope TeamStinkbugs feed off plant juices.
- Bugscope TeamMost of them have a proboscis that they stick into the parts of plants that are fully of sugary water.
- TeacherWould we be able to see the stinkbug's legs?
Bugscope Teamoh yeah!
- TeacherIf they feed off plant juice, do they have a proboscis. If so, can we see it?
- Bugscope TeamYes, that's the long straw-like thing between the legs.
- Bugscope Teaminsects have six legs as adults
- Bugscope TeamThe proboscis is basically a soda straw! Except instead of sucking up coca cola, it is slurping up plant juices. It does this to get sugar and protein it needs to survive.
- Bugscope Teamwe can see where the legs come out of the body because the stinkbug is on its back
- Bugscope TeamYes.
- TeacherGreat shot of the legs! Thanks! Wow - that's the proboscis? Do they tuck it under like that when they are not feeding?
Bugscope Teamyes they do!
- 8:53 am
- TeacherWhat is the bumpy stuff we see on the thorax? Is that what they exoskeleton looks like?
Bugscope Teamnow we are looking at some of the bumps on the thorax
- Bugscope Teamwe are very close to the stink gland
- Bugscope Teamstinkbugs do not like their own bad smells, so they have absorbent features around the outside of the gland that suck up the smell so they do not have to be exposed to it
- TeacherDo you know why stinkbugs love to come into our houses? Wouldn't they rather stay outside because that's where the plants are?
Bugscope Teamsometimes insects are attracted to the warmth of houses
Bugscope TeamTo add to what Cate said, bugs are dumb. They just go where they sense odors that indicate food. Because we keep food in our homes, they will show up there looking to eat. Also, in the winter, as Cate said, they are looking for a warm place.
- TeacherIs that opening the stink gland?
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- TeacherDo they emit their stink when they feel threatened?
Bugscope Teamyes that is exactly what they do
- 8:59 am
- TeacherDo insects have brains in their abdomen's?
Bugscope TeamTheir brains are in their heads, like ours. They have a network of nerves that attach to all of the spines and setae and bristles that stick out of their bodies and send signals to the brain
- TeacherWhat is this now? It looks like claws.
Bugscope Teamthat's what they are! they have claws on each of their legs
Bugscope TeamThe claws help them hang onto plants, especially when it is windy.
- TeacherWhat are setae?
Bugscope Teamsetae are the things that look like tiny hairs
- TeacherDo they use the setae to feel around?
- Bugscope Teamwe can see some setae now, and they are 'mechanosensory,' meaning that they sense touch and wind
- Bugscope Teamsetae can sense touch, hot/cold, and they can also sense chemicals -- insects can smell with them
- Bugscope Teamsome setae help the insect sense its own limbs, for example if a leg is hyperextended
- Bugscope TeamSetae are also important to us: pollen sticks to setae very easiliy and gets passed from flower to flower by beetles and bees.
- Bugscope Teamthe mechanosensory setae like the ones we see now are cat or rat whiskers
- TeacherSo the setae are those long things on either side of the claws?
Bugscope Teamyes
- 9:05 am
- Bugscope TeamI just moved us to the body of the wasp, where we can see an upside down male ant -- a flying ant
- TeacherIs the ant caught by the wasp?'
Bugscope TeamThis is a male ant right now.
- Bugscope Teamif we see an ant with wings, we know that it is either a queen or a male ant
- TeacherWhere are the wings on the ant?
Bugscope TeamYou can see them near it's "shoulder". They are the long and flat things, that look folded as it gets near the abdomen.
Bugscope TeamOoops. "Its" not "It's". sorry.
- TeacherWhat is the stronger defense for insects - their odor or sting?
Bugscope TeamI think it depends on what is attacking them. Many insects have defenses against ants, and they have a variety of means of stopping them
Bugscope TeamIt depends upon the type of insect and what the predators are. For instance, monarch caterpillars and butterflies have bright colors to advertise the fact that they taste bad to birds and other predators.
- 9:10 am
- Bugscope Teamaphids, for example, are true bugs like the assassin bug and the stinkbug -- they have piercing/sucking mouthparts. Aphids have an interesting defense against ants that comes from their cornicles.
- TeacherDW, are you Arthur's sister?
Bugscope TeamNo, I'm most assuredly male.
Bugscope Team:)
- Bugscope Teamthe cornicles look like exhaust pipes that come out of the back end of the aphid, and when an ant sticks its face near the cornicles, the aphid releases a fluid that sets up like instant glue, immobilizing the ant forever
- TeacherOh, we are so sorry!! We know a DW from the Arthur books.
Bugscope TeamAaaaah! That's right! Nope, no relation. :)
- Bugscope TeamWasp stinger.
- Bugscope Teamwe can see from the scalebar, above and to the left, that this wasp's stinger is more than a millimiter long
- Bugscope Team'millimeter,' sorry
- TeacherCan we get closer to this stinger?
Bugscope TeamScot is on it.
- 9:16 am
- Bugscope TeamI am sorry there is dried fluid on the stinger; otherwise we would be better able to see the edges, which are serrated like a steak knife.
- TeacherWow - is that still the stinger?
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- Bugscope Teamthere is what is called a parasitoid wasp for every insect and also evrery life stage of insect
- TeacherAre all of you guys entomologists?
- Bugscope Teamthose wasps are very small
- 9:21 am
- TeacherAre the stingers poisonous?
Bugscope Teamthey produce a venom that can paralyze prey, or just hurt it and make it leave the wasp alone
Bugscope TeamPeople react to that venom in different ways. I, for instance, end up with just a red bump that hurts. Other people have very bad reactions and need to go to the hospital.
Bugscope Teamthere are a huge number of wasps that use their stingers to paralyze their prey and then also inject eggs into them that will hatch, and the larvae will eat their way out of the prey.
Bugscope TeamOne type of wasp injects eggs into those big green caterpillars that eat tomato plants - the tomato hornworms. The eggs hatch and the wasp larvae eat the caterpillar from the inside out, eventually popping out the caterpillar's side! The larvae then make little white cocoons attached to the back of the dying caterpilar, where they then turn into adult wasps.
- Bugscope Teamwe have an entomologist named Joe who works with us but is not in today. he helps us understand insects, but we have also studied them ourselves for many years
- Bugscope TeamCate is a physicist, I have a degree in English and biology, and Daniel is finishing his PhD in some kind of plant thing...
- TeacherAwesome! You all know so much about insects.
- Bugscope Teaminsects have an open circulatory system; they are full of a blood-like fluid called hemolymph
- TeacherDo insects have beating hearts?
Bugscope Teamthey have a multi-lobed organ that is kind of like a heart; they do not have a closed circulatory system with veins and arteries like we do.
Bugscope TeamThey also don't have blood like we do. They have a fluid called hemolymph that is used like blood, but it isn't blood cells.
- TeacherDo they have blood that flows?
Bugscope TeamSee my answer just above. I was writing about blood when you asked.
Bugscope Teamthe hemolymph is clear, and it is found throughout the inside of the insect
- Bugscope Teaminsects breathe through pores called spiracles; I will find some for you
- 9:26 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is a spiracle, which is a pore that insects breathe through
- TeacherWow - do they have pores on their head, thorax, and abdomen or just on the head?
- Bugscope Teamthere are spiracles on each side, usually, or each segment of the body
- TeacherLike if you step on them by mistake, does blood come out?
Bugscope TeamYou'll see a clear or sometimes yellowish fluid. That's the hemolymph. It isn't red like our blood. The color is often due to what they've eaten recently.
Bugscope TeamThose big green tomato hornworms I mentioned earlier are actually a bright blue when you feed them something other than leaves! If they're eating a lot of tomato leaves, then they are green. It is very odd looking!
- Bugscope Teamwe see them on the abdomen -- I will go to a lower mag to show you -- and we also see them on the thorax
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see three spiracles
- TeacherWhat are those cell looking things inside the spiracle?
Bugscope Teaminside the spiracle is a mesh, often, like a filter that keeps dust from getting it
Bugscope Teamlet's go back to see
- Bugscope Teaminsects can open and close their spiracles, so they are also considered a means of controlling the level of moisture inside the insect
- 9:32 am
- TeacherCool - are there any on their head? it seems weird that they breathe from their thorax and abdomen.
Bugscope TeamI don't belive they are found on the head, anywhere
Bugscope Teamoops 'believe.'
- TeacherWhich insect is this? It's so white.
Bugscope Teamhaha this is the stinkbug; I knew I could find spiracles on it easily
- Bugscope Teamthe spiracles connect to ducts called tracheae that carry the air inside the body, and likely to the head
- Bugscope Teamthe ducts, when we see them, look very much like little cardboard tubes
- Bugscope Teamthey are corrugated
- TeacherIs this a stinkbug's leg?
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- TeacherThat is interesting.
- TeacherWe wonder why it looks so white. When we see them around here they are brown.
Bugscope TeamThat's just due to the contrast we have here. The electron microscope doesn't work with light, so it can't show colors. In real life this one is probably brown. But when we use this type of microscope, we only have black and white images.
Bugscope TeamThis microscope is different than the ones you may have seen before - the type that use magnifying glasses / lenses. This microscope uses electrons instead of light to illuminate the insects. Electrons don't have color, so what we see is the equivalent of bright and dark.
- 9:37 am
- TeacherAre these the ducts you were telling us about?
Bugscope Teamthat is comparable but it is just showing us that the insides of the antennae are hollow
- Bugscope Teampeople look at geological samples, and they look at protein from corn, and they look at chemicals..
- TeacherWhat else do you guys use the electron microscope for at your university?
Bugscope Teampeople look at bacteria, which often produce biofilms that protect them from being washed off,. and they look at very small devices they have fabricated; for example the flexible silicon people work with us
Bugscope TeamOne of our professors used an electron microscope to look at the tiny plant embryos hidden inside seeds.
- TeacherOh wow - is it possible to see a mouth part?
Bugscope TeamScott is looking for one now.
- Bugscope Teamthis is a cute little beetle with its mouth open
- TeacherWoooo.... scary! But totally cool!! Is this still the stinkbug?
Bugscope Teamthis is another insect; the stinkbug does not have mouthparts like this.
- TeacherWhat are those two things hanging out of the mouth?
Bugscope Teamthose are called palps, and there are usually four of them; two of one kind and tow of another
- Bugscope Teamabove the opening we see the mandibles, which open side to side like a gate
- TeacherIs this beetle upside down? We
- TeacherWe
- Bugscope Teamthe mandibles have hinges at the sides
- TeacherSorry - we are wondering where the eyes are.
- Bugscope Teamthe beetle is on its back
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see the eyes
- 9:43 am
- Bugscope Teamlet's take the mag down further so you can get a better view
- TeacherAhh, yes. How cute! Is that a wing we see on the left?
Bugscope Teamits wings are on the other side, and they are tucked underneath shell like covers called elytra
- TeacherAre those segmented things hanging down the antennae?
Bugscope Teamyes they are!
- Teacherwhat do palps do?
Bugscope Teamthey help the insect taste and also manipulate its food into its mouth, like a knife and fork
- Bugscope Teamthe palps are accessory limbs that have to do with eating and tasting in most insects
- Bugscope Teamspiders have palps too, called pedipalps
- Bugscope Teamlet's go look at another beetle's mouth
- Bugscope Teamthis is a mean-looking beetle
- TeacherIs the eye the only place on an insect that does not have cilia?
Bugscope Teamthe eyes often have tiny setae on them as well, and those of bees are often covered with them
- 9:48 am
- Bugscope Teamat the top we see very sharp
- Bugscope Teammandibles
- TeacherOh my gosh! are those all the palps?
Bugscope Teamthey look like little bats
Bugscope TeamYou can see the eyes: the round bumps to the right and left. Scott is zooming in to one now.
- Teacherthis is still the beetle - right?
Bugscope Teamthis is an emerald beetle
- TeacherWhat color is this beetle?
Bugscope TeamGreen.
Bugscope Teamit's a beautiful metallic green, but when we prepare it for the electron microscope we coat it with gold-palladium. which looks silver
- Teacherand those all help the beetle get the food into its mouth?
Bugscope Teamyes they do, and also taste!
Bugscope TeamMandibles are used to mash up food, just like we use teeth.
- Teacherso insects don't really chew anything - they just move it around to get it in?
Bugscope Teamsome of them chew a lot, and some of them use fluids to digest their food outside their mouths
- Bugscope Teamthis is the inside of the microscope
- 9:54 am
- Bugscope Teamthis is what the insects look like inside the vacuum chamber
- Bugscope Teamthis is exactically the insects we have been looking at
- TeacherIs this exactly what it looks like right now? Are those the insects we have been looking at?
Bugscope TeamYes.
- Bugscope TeamNice palp, Scott.
- Bugscope Teamthis, now, is the tip of one of the palps of the emerald beetle we had seen earlier
- Bugscope Teamthe things we see now are very small, and they function like tastebuds on our tongues
- Teacherwow - that's up super close!
Bugscope Teamyes it is!]
- Bugscope Teamlet's take the mag down so we can see where we are
- TeacherIs it sticking out of its mouth?
Bugscope Teamthis is at the tip of one of those palps
Bugscope TeamIf you remember those round things that looked like fingers near its mouth, these are on the tips of those. They help the beetle taste things.
Bugscope TeamIt would be like you having taste buds on your fingers!
- 9:59 am
- TeacherIs this still the tip of a palp?
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- Bugscope Teamthe sharp things are the mandibles
- TeacherAmazing! So awesome to see.1
- Bugscope TeamHeading to the beetle eye.
- Bugscope Teamwe can see that the eye facets are hexagonal
- TeacherI am sorry to say that we have to end our session now. Thank you very much for this incredible experience! Here are some comments from our first graders: "that was the best" "you guys rock" "we loved this" Thank you again, for your patience, time, and for sharing your knowledge with us today!
Bugscope TeamThank You!
- Bugscope Teamhttp://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2013-104
- Bugscope Teamthis is super fun for us
- Bugscope Teambelow is a link to your homepage for this session
- Bugscope Teamgood bye, everyone!
