Connected on 2014-12-09 13:30:00
from Kings County, New York, United States
- 12:33 pm
- Bugscope Teamtoday's sample is in the 'scope, and the 'scope is pumping down
- 12:38 pm
- 12:44 pm
- 12:50 pm
- 12:59 pm
- 1:04 pm
- 1:10 pm
- 1:15 pm
- 1:21 pm
- Bugscope Teamwe are ready
- Bugscope TeamYay! Welcome Back, Debby!
- Bugscope Teamthis is Scott, in my office...
- 1:27 pm
- Bugscope TeamHi Debby
- TeacherI am so happy to be joining again
- 1:42 pm
- TeacherThe students will be joining in 8 minutes
- Bugscope Teamawesome!
- 1:54 pm
- Studentwhat am i looking at here?
- Bugscope Teamyou can see that it is lying on its back, on its dorsal side, in a pool of silver paint
- StudentWhen was this beetle discovered
Bugscope Teamnot sure -- someone sent it to us
- Studentwhat are we looking out
Bugscope Teamthe background with the little craters is doublestick carbon tape
- Bugscope Teamyou can see the beetle's antennae, and its palps and mandibles are also easy to see
- Teacherwhy is it silver
Bugscope Teamwe are using electrons to image these specimens
Bugscope Teamwe also coated them with a thin layer of metal to make them conductive, so they would look silvery anyway
- Studenthey josh
- Guestwhy are did you dip it in silver paint?
Bugscope Teamwe out silver paint on the stub to hold it down
Bugscope Team'put'
- 1:59 pm
- Bugscope Teamthe bubbly background is carbon tape and the lighter bit around the insect is silver paint i used to help glue down the insects
- StudentHow old is this bug
Bugscope Teama few months
- StudentBased on the microscopic image, what information did you gain about this species?
Bugscope Teamwe use these samples for Bugscope, so the information we get is the same you get, although of course we may know a little more about some of the samples
- Bugscope Teamhere we can see its super sharp mandibles and one set of pointy palps
- Guest*function
- Guestwhat are those antenna's used for (funtion)?
Bugscope TeamAntennae are insect's primary chemosensory organs. They are used mainly to smell, but can also be used as a tactile (touch) and tasting organ
- Studentwhat are the things sticking out of its mouth
Bugscope Teamthis fly has a lot of hairs, or setae as we call them on insects, around its face
- Bugscope Teamthis is a female fly
- Studentthank you cate
- Guestwhat are those bubbles in the background of the image?
Bugscope Teamthose are features on the carbon tape that the insects are laying on
- Guestthank you Cate
- StudentIs this specie venomous and was this organism recently found?
Bugscope Teamnot venomous, and it is not a rare insect
- Guestwhy is there so many layers on it?
- StudentDo you think the paint or tape could have deformed the bug over these few months, if so maybe it can be a species that is currently known but deformed
Bugscope Teamit was mounted last week
Bugscope Teamcertainly it is not an uncommon species, but Cate and I are microscopists, not entomologists, and we have to rely on entomologists for the tricky stuff
Bugscope TeamIf I am correct, and it is a staphylinid, then it would be exceptionally difficult to identify to species for anyone who is not an expert in that group. Staphylinidae is currently the most specious group of beetles known, with close to 60,000 recognized species
- Bugscope Teammoths, butterflies, skippers, silverfish, and mosquitoes, along with few other insects, have scales like this]
- 2:04 pm
- Teacherwhat is the small little leave like items sticking out of its head
Bugscope Teamthose are scales, which serve to protect the insect, in this case the moth, from getting caught in spiderwebs
- Studentwhy is the moth's skin so feathery
Bugscope TeamIt uses the scales to escape from spider webs. The scales stick to the web and break off, allowing the moth to escape by dropping out of the web and flying away. the more scales it has the less likely it will stick to the web
- Studentwhat am i looking at right now?
- Guesthow well can the moth see with those eyes?
Bugscope Teamwe are not sure about specific moths, but it should be able to see fairly well, and likely it can see UV wavelengths of light, which humans cannot
- StudentWhere did you find the special bee organism?
Bugscope Teampeople send all kinds of insects to us
- Studentwhat is a leafhopper
Bugscope Teamit is a plant pest that has piercing/sucking mouthparts that allow it to suck the fluids out of leaves
- Teacherwhy is the head triangular
Bugscope Teamit helps disguise the leafhopper, making it look more like its surroundings, which are often leaves
- Teacherwhat sre brocosomes
- Studentwhere does this leafhopper live in the world?
- Guestwhat brochosomes
- StudentHow does a insects eyes help them in survival?
Bugscope Teamthey allow them to see flowers and other things they might eat, and they allow insects to see around them without turning their heads, and they also update quickly so they can see very quick movements
- Guestwhy are the eyes sticking out
Bugscope Teamthey stick out a bit so they are more useful as eyes
- 2:09 pm
- StudentWhat are brochosomes?
Bugscope Teambrochosomes are nanoparticles, produced solely by leafhoppers, that are said to help keep their eggs from drying out
- Guestwhy are they bumpy
- StudentDo you know what this organism eats to keep them alive? What helps them keep homeostasis?
Bugscope Teamthis organism is a mosquito, and it drinks blood. the protein from the blood allows it to lay its eggs successfully
- Teacherhow are these related to the mosquito
Bugscope Teamthey are its eyes...
- Studentwhat does
- Guestwhy are they circular
Bugscope Teamcircular is a good shape for eyes. when they are close-packed, hexagonal is a better shape
- Studentwhat does the be
- Teacheryes
- Teacherhow sre these relevant to the beetle?
Bugscope Teamthe claws?
Bugscope Teamclaws are used by insects in much the same way we use our hands; they can grasp things with them
- Studentwhat does the beetle claw do?
Bugscope Teamthey use the claws like we use our hands, for the most part. they grab things with it like food, or to hold onto things
- StudentHow does the beetle claw help their way of living?
Bugscope Teamit means the beetle can hold onto wherever it is hanging out
- Studentwhy do beetles need claws to survive
Bugscope Teamit's kind of like how we use our hands, and it seems to make it easier for us to survive
- Studentwhy is the myst
- Studentwhat is the most dangerous bug in the world
Bugscope Teamprobably, in general, the mosquito
- 2:14 pm
- StudentWhat part of the organism is this?
Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a beetle we did not recognize
- Guestwhy is it mystery
Bugscope Teamwe don't know what kind of beetle it is
- Studentwhat is the most energetic bug in the world
Bugscope Teamthat is hard to say
- Teacheris this beetle a rare type of organism?
Bugscope Teamprobably not
- Studentwhat is the gnarly beetle?
- Studenthow is the mosquito the most dangerous insect in the world?
Bugscope Teammosquitoes are vectors for a variety of diseases such as yellow fever and malaria
Bugscope TeamSo mosquitoes themselves are actually harmless, but the parasites they spread claim millions of lives each year
- Bugscope Teamthis is some kind of beetle we did not recognize
Bugscope TeamScot, Is it some kind of Staphylinid? if it is, it would have very tiny elytra. You cant see that from its current position though.
Bugscope Teammaybe so!
- StudentWhat are insects attracted to that leads them to humans houses
Bugscope Teamheat, CO2, sometimes certain scents that they might think come from other insects
Bugscope TeamMost of the insects that occupy houses in huge swarms (i.e. stink bugs, ladybugs, etc) are invasive species that overwinter as adults. they seek out human dwellings because they are warm and the insects are less likely to freeze to death over the winter if they stay inside with us
- Teacherwhat family is this beetle from?
Bugscope Teamit may be a Staphylinid, according to Josh
Bugscope TeamIts hard to tell when the beetle is under the SEM. I would be able to tell you if I had the beetle in hand.
- 2:20 pm
- Guestwhy is it gnarly
Bugscope Teamit means scott thinks it is cool
- Studentzzzzzzz
- Teacherbut where does it catch malaria
Bugscope Teamfrom other victims
- Teacherwhere did malaria originate
- Studenthow do we not feel a mosquito bite us
Bugscope Teamsometimes we do, and we are often allergic, in some way, to its saliva
- Studentwhats a staphylimid
Bugscope Teamit's a rove beetle
Bugscope Teamthey remind me of earwigs (pincer bugs) in how they look but are different.
- StudentWhat other moquitos are in the Staphylinid family?
Bugscope TeamThere are no mosquitoes in the staphylinid family. Staphylinidae are rove beetles (google them some time, theyre pretty cool), while all mosquitoes are members of the family Culicidae, a type of true fly.
- Studentwhy are mosquitos attracted to human blood?
Bugscope Teamthey can use to as protein that allows them to have the energy to lay their eggs and perhaps also ensure that those eggs will survive
- Studentwhy is there hooks on the stylet?
Bugscope Teamthose are little barbs that help the stylet cut into your skin
- Studentwhy are some insects eggs different shapes?
Bugscope TeamSome eggs are designed to blend in with their surroundings so they dont get eaten, others have evolved to fit in with the insects lifestyle... for example, mosquito eggs float on water, forming rafts, which is helpful because mosquito larvae are aquatic
- 2:25 pm
- Bugscope Teamthis is a ladybug adult
- Bugscope Teamsee its eyes, on either side of its head?
- Teacherwhat type of insect eggs are these?
Bugscope Teamwe have no idea...
Bugscope Teamthey could be mite eggs; we are not sure
- Bugscope Teamladybugs are great at eating aphids.
- StudentTake an educated guess on what insect eggs these are
Bugscope Teamparasitoid wasps
Bugscope TeamYou should always guess beetle eggs Scot, there's a one in five chance youll be right
Bugscope Teamplus if they were parasitoids they would not have any food when they woke up
- StudentWhere is the moth?
- Bugscope Teamcould be. insects use hairs to do various things like sense of touch, or taste, or tell the temperature
- Studentdoes the ladybugs dots tell us anything about the insect?
- Studentwhere is the mou fv
- Bugscope Teamthe moth is to the south and west of the ladybug
- Teacherwhat is inside a ladybug's mouth instead of teeth?
Bugscope Teamthey have jaws/mandibles that open out like a gate
Bugscope TeamInsects primarily use their mandibles to chew; they act like sideways jaws, and even have "teeth". Insects also have a labrum and labium, which act kind of like lips and cover the insects other mouth parts when they are not in use, as well as maxilla, which are also used in chewing, and two pairs of palps, which the insect uses to taste and manipulate their food (sort of like we do with our tongues)
- Bugscope Teamladybugs smell/taste bad.
- Guestwhere are the arms and legs
- Guesthufhf
- Teachergoodbye everyone thank you!!!
- 2:30 pm
- Studentcvtrf
- Studentwhat gives the ladybug its color
Bugscope TeamI think the colors come from pigments in the elytra (the hard shell that covers the wings)
- TeacherThank you, I just took over the computer, my students had control of this computer unitl now.
- Studentwhat are the hairs on this orga\
Bugscope Teammost hairs you see on insects are used for sense of touch. they cant feel anything through their exoskeleton, which is like wearing a suit of armor
- StudentThank you!!
- Studentwhat is a ladybugs life span
Bugscope Teamsome of them seem to be able to overwinter, so they could perhaps live almost a year
- Bugscope TeamThank You, Everyone!
- StudentGoodbye!
- Studentbye
- Bugscope TeamGood Bye!
- Studentthankyou for all the answers
- Bugscope Teamwe enjoyed connecting with you today!
- Bugscope Teamsee you nextm year!
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- Bugscope Teamhttps://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2014-091
- Bugscope Teamthis is your member page
- Bugscope Teamalright we're going to close down...
- TeacherGreat!
- Bugscope TeamBye!
