Connected on 2015-04-27 14:00:00
from Orange County, California, United States
- 1:08 pm
- Bugscope Teamsetting up
- 1:28 pm
- 1:33 pm
- 1:39 pm
- 1:45 pm
- 1:50 pm
- Bugscope Teamwele
- Bugscope Teamhaha
- Bugscope Teamcannot type
- Bugscope Teamwelcome to Bugscope!
- TeacherDid you receive any bugs from my students?
- 1:55 pm
- Bugscope Teamhaven't seen any
- Bugscope Teamsometimes it takes a while for them to make it here
- Bugscope Teamthis is normal table salt
- Bugscope Teamyou have control of the microscope
- Bugscope Teamthis is a stinger with some juju
- TeacherThis one is a cool one to start with :) I am glad you have some on standby
- Bugscope Teamon it
- Bugscope Teamin this case it is dried liquid.
- Teacherwhat is juju?
Bugscope Teamthings that dont belong on the insect- like dust/dirt, maybe oils
- Bugscope Teamwe can start with another preset if you wish
- Bugscope Teamthe sting of these ants is said to be comparable to that of a wasp
- 2:00 pm
- TeacherThis one is good, I will have them predict what is on the screen and then zoom out to reveal! Here they come!
Bugscope Teamhaha Awesome
- Bugscope TeamWelcome to Bugscope!
- Bugscope TeamPlease let us know when you have questions.
- GuestA leg
- GuestIs it a Ant?
Bugscope Teamwe are on the ant...somewhere
- Guestby the stinger
- Guestantenna?
- 2:06 pm
- Bugscope TeamAlinda. Yay!
- Teacherready to zoom out?
- Bugscope Teamin the background we see little craters in the doublestick carbon tape the insects are stuck to
- Bugscope TeamMrs Evans you can click on the screen in the NW for example, to get the 'scope to center on that point
- Bugscope TeamTried. It did not fix the problem. Maybe if I try opening it in a different window?
Bugscope Teamyes or another browser
- Bugscope TeamScott I am having problems, I am logged in as an admin as far as I can tell but don't have access to private chat and cannot reply to anyone's comments
Bugscope TeamDude please try logging out and logging in again. I had a similar problem just now.
Bugscope Teamthe biggest problem, however, is that we have seen nary a mite on the ant.
- TeacherHello, Can a guest control the microscope?
Bugscope Teamyes please let us know who you would like to drive
- 2:11 pm
- Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a trapjaw ant.
Bugscope TeamJust FYI, trap jaw ants are the coolest insects ever :)
- TeacherAlinda would like to drive
Bugscope TeamAlinda is now the Supreme Ruler.
- GuestThey look so delicate up close!
Bugscope Teamhaha Yeah!
- Bugscope Teamthis is the abdomen, which in ants is called a 'gaster.'
- Teachertell us more please
Bugscope TeamTrap-jaw ants get their name from their unique prey capture mechanism. They are able to lock their long mandibles open in a 180 degree gape, allowing them to store energy as they contract large mandibular closer muscles, similar to how a catapult stores energy.
Bugscope TeamOnce a prey item touches the long "trigger hairs" located on the inside of the mandibles, the ant releases its mandibles and they slam shut on the prey at speeds of up to 60 meters per second, generating forces greater than 300 times the body weight of the ant.
Bugscope Teamessentially they have tiny bear traps on their face
- 2:16 pm
- Guestwhat do these ants eat?
Bugscope TeamThey tend to be generalists, but some specialize on termites that have nasty chemical defenses. their trap-jaws allow them to quickly stun the termites before they are able to release their defensive chemicals.
Bugscope TeamTrap-jaw mechanisms have actually evolved in ants at least 4 separate times, and other types of trap-jaw ants also specialize on tiny fast moving insects called springtails.
- Guestlooks so complicating when you look at them on a microscope
- TeacherYume would like to drive...do the controls appear for the driver?
Bugscope TeamYume is the Pope of the 'Scope.
- 2:21 pm
- Bugscope TeamThis is a spider, you're looking at it head on.
Bugscope Teamon the head you can see its eyes, in this case, this spider has 8 eyes.
Bugscope Teamcurrently centered is the remnants of a broken off appendage.
- GuestIf you decapitated it, we would be looking at it head off
Bugscope Teamyou can't really decapitate a spider; it has a cephalothorax.
Bugscope TeamA cephalothorax is a head and thorax fused together. so the body part which contains all of its legs also contains its head.
Bugscope Teamsorry Chaim I messed up your pun
- Teacherhahahaha
- Guestthat's so wierd
- Guestand kinda cool
- Guestwhy do spiders have so many eyes
Bugscope Teameach eye serves a different purpose, some primarily in prey location, and others more geared towards detecting motion and reacting for defense
Bugscope TeamInterestingly - not all spiders have 8 eyes, like many people believe
- Guestmoth head
- 2:26 pm
- Bugscope TeamSpiders can do this cool thing called autotomy. If they sense venom from another spider, for example, entering one of their legs, they can just let that leg fall off, like vote it off the island so the venom doesn't make it as far as the cephalothorax.
- Guestmoths*
- Guestwhy are they so fuzzy?
Bugscope Teamthose are all the scales. they are like feathers on a bird
Bugscope TeamThe scales allow the moth to escape from spider webs. the scales stick to the web and the moth can shed the scales and escape!
- Bugscope Teamthe proboscis is split down the middle, not normally how we see it, plus normally it is coiled up
- Guestthat looks like a fly
Bugscope Teamflies look a bit different once you've had a chance to see more of them up close
- Guestwhy are oths attracted to light?
Bugscope TeamMoths aren't so much attracted to light as they are guided by light. Back in the day when people didn't have lights everywhere at night, moths used the moon to orient themselves and figure out where to go. Now with so much artificial light, they can't tell whats the moon and whats not which usually results in them crashing into our lights
- 2:31 pm
- Bugscope Teammoths, butterflies, mosquitoes, and silverfish are covered with tiny scales like the ones we see here near the center of the image.
Bugscope Teamwe know of course that butterflies and moths have tiny scales covering their wings, and often they produce color.
- TeacherChaim would like to drive now please
Bugscope Teamgo ahead chaim
- Bugscope Teammicrometers=microns
- GuestI see that the scale is now in microns
Bugscope Team500 microns is 500 micrometers is a half millimeter
Bugscope Teamrod-shaped bacteria are usually about 2 microns long
- Guestwow
- Bugscope Teamthis is a fly -- a fruitfly
Bugscope Teamalthough Drosophila melanogaster is commonly referred to as a fruit fly, it is technically a vinegar fly because it wants to suck up the vinegar rotten fruit produces
- 2:37 pm
- Bugscope Teamthis is a mosquito with a shrunken head
Bugscope TeamYou can tell its a male based on its exceptionally poofy antennae
Bugscope Teamthe antennae of the males have a special architecture that helps them sense and track the wing beat frequency of females of the same species
- GuestSo males in the bug world are more beautifully adorned like male birds.
Bugscope Teamin some cases. Not all though.
Bugscope Teammoths are often like that as well
Bugscope TeamFor mosquitoes, the poofy antennae allows them to better sense the vibrations of female mosquitoes wings
- Teachereyes?
Bugscope Teamyes these are the individual facets of the male mosquito's compound eyes, called ommatidia.
- Bugscope Teamwhen mosquitoes die and dry out the compound eyes often collapse like this, like a basketball with no air in it
- 2:43 pm
- Teacheris this the moth claw?
Bugscope Teamno we are in nowhere land, for some reason
- Guestmy controls are glitching
- Bugscope Teamthere we go
- Bugscope Teamhere is the moth claw
- Bugscope Teamsome claws pinch together
- Teachercool -our finale picture!
Bugscope Teamthis is cool
Bugscope Teamwell... not as cool as trap-jaw ants ;) but still cool.
- Bugscope Teamthere is a tendon called an unguitractor inside the tarsomere that serves as a forearm, and when it is retracted the claw closes
- Guestwhat are the functions of the claw?
Bugscope TeamThey allow the moth to grip surfaces. Primarily rough surfaces. Insects use a sticky pad located between the claws that allow them to grip smoother surfaces like glass. it functions similar to a suction cup
Bugscope Teamthat sticky pad, sometimes called a pulvilluis, sometimes an arolium, is in the middle here, but it is hard to make out
- 2:48 pm
- GuestThank you!!!
- TeacherThank you so much for your time!
- Bugscope TeamThank you, Everyone!
- Bugscope TeamThe time went by so quickly.
- Guestthank you!
- Bugscope Teamthanks for joining us today
- Bugscope TeamIt was a pleasure talking with all of you :)
- Teacherhilarious!
