Connected on 2015-03-18 15:30:00
from , Virginia, United States
- 3:15 pm
- Bugscope Teamwe are just about ready!
- Bugscope Teamgood afternoon!
- TeacherHi. OUr scout troop is gathering and connecting our devices.
- 3:20 pm
- Bugscope Teamwe are ready to roll
- TeacherHi Scot. This is Girl Scout Troop 831. We are in Va Beach, VA. The girls that are with us are in 2nd-4th grade.
- Bugscope TeamSuper cool!
- Bugscope Teamyou are welcome to start anytime.
- Bugscope TeamYou have control of the microscope, and with your permission I can hand control over to anyone you choose.
- TeacherOkay great, I have not done this in a couple years.
- TeacherHi i am Mia
- Bugscope Teamyou may go to the lefthand screen and click on any of the presets there.
- Bugscope Teamthe microscope will drive to the place shown in the preset
- Bugscope TeamCool!
- StudentTest message
- Bugscope Teamour software is a little funky right now, and you have better control than I do.
- Bugscope Teamtest message worked!
- 3:25 pm
- StudentI am Summer and I am Maria
- Bugscope Teamthis is the top of the head of the fly
- TeacherWhat is the ocelli?
- Bugscope Teamwe are looking between the two compound eyes and can see at least two ocelli, which are simple eyes
- Bugscope Teamocelli -- the simple eyes -- do not see well but register dark and light and help the fly stay oriented with the sun
- TeacherWhat are the antennae looking things between the eyes?
Bugscope Teamthose are really small, actually, I know it is hard to tell -- they are bristles on the top of the fly's head that sense touch and wind, likely
- StudentHi I am excited my name is savanah nice to meet you
Bugscope TeamSweet! Nice to meet you!
- Bugscope Teaminsects and comparable arthropods do not have skin, as we know -- they have no bones, either. instead they have an exoskeleton, which is kind of like a suit of armor.
- TeacherMaria wants to known if insects have blood?
Bugscope Teamthey have something like blood that is called hemolymph
- StudentCool
- StudentI am Summer and do bugs change color after they die
Bugscope Teamsometimes they do
Bugscope Teamusually they just get a bit duller in color
- StudentLike a gray or yellow
- Bugscope Teamcolors in insects can come from both pigments, as we would expect, and the shapes of fine features. the latter are called structural colors.
- 3:31 pm
- TeacherHow do we zoom in on the microscope?
Bugscope Teamat the top of the screen you should see controls for magnification, focus, contrast, and brightness
Bugscope Teamthat would be only the teacher (you), unless we give control to someone else
- TeacherDo the things on the front of the ant head bite things?
Bugscope Teamyes they do! those are the mandibles, and that is a trapjaw ant that I believe feeds on collembola -- springtails
- StudentMaria,"do bugs twitch after they die?"
Bugscope Teamyes for a brief time, but not always; also, what happens is that the tendons inside their limbs tighten up, and we see that when they die and fold their arms and legs neatly
- StudentDo you have a picture of a horse fly
Bugscope Teamthese are live images from the scanning electron microscope, and I am sorry -- we do not have any horseflies in the microscope today. it would have been so cool!
- StudentDo you show in color
Bugscope Teamthere is no color because we are beaming electrons at the insects, and the electron beam is only 2.1 nanometers in diameter. just the wavelengths of color -- of visible light -- are 400 to 700 nanometers in diameters. in other words, we are imaging with a probe that is much thinner than light.
- TeacherI am having trouble moving any of the images, but I think we are okay. We are showing in grayscale.
Bugscope Teamplease let me help move the 'scope for you.
- 3:37 pm
- StudentThank you for answering our QUESTIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bugscope Teamyay! absolutely!
- TeacherSure, if you want to just move it for us that would be great. :)
- StudentMaria,that color is not shown makes sense
- Bugscope Teamnow we can see the compound eye of the trapjaw ant
- TeacherAre you an entomologist?
Bugscope Teamno but I have been doing this since the beginning. our anniversary, of the first official Bugscope session, is March 19, 1999.
Bugscope TeamHey guys! I am an entomologist, I have been studying insects for about 4 years but have been an insect enthusiast since I was 5.
- TeacherWhat is a compound eye?
Bugscope Teama compound eye has a number of facets, or lenses, called ommatidia, that each collect an iamge
Bugscope Teamsorry 'image'
- Bugscope Teamwe can see that the left antenna is broken off
- Bugscope Teamplus Josh is an ant specialist, to the bigtime
Bugscope TeamI dunno about big time ;) but officially yes.
Bugscope TeamScientists who study ants are known as myrmecologists.
- StudentHi josh
Bugscope Teamsup!
- Bugscope Teamthis is a surprise, super tiny beetle on the stub
- StudentMia, Can ants be different colors like Brown?
Bugscope Teamants come in many different colors: black, brown, red, orange, green; there are some that are even a metallic gold color
- Bugscope Teamwe can see that this beetle is just less than 2 mm long
- StudentIs it a Bee
Bugscope Teamits a bee...tle! beetle :)
- 3:42 pm
- StudentMia "that is awesome "
- StudentIs it a roly poly, Summer
Bugscope TeamNot quite. roly polies are not insects, they are actually land dwelling crustaceans called Isopods. this is a beetle, which is vastly different from a roly poly and is a true insect
- TeacherWhat are the 3 main body parts of insects?
Bugscope Teamum, the head, and the ... thorax, and I would say ... the abdomen?
Bugscope Teamthey also have six legs, as adults, and two antennae
- TeacherGirls--how many legs do insects have?
Bugscope Teamjust to clarify, you are asking your students and not scott and I these questions?
- Student6
Bugscope Teamyay!
- Bugscope Teamsometimes when we see caterpillars, and they seem to have extra legs -- the things that look like extra legs are called 'prolegs'
- TeacherYep, that was to them, not you guys. Trying to redirect them.
- StudentSix
Bugscope Teamyay!
- Bugscope Teamand juvenile ticks have six legs, but when they become adults they have eight legs
- StudentMaria,can you show a picture of a green ant
Bugscope TeamHere is a link to a picture of a green ant: http://www.mnh.si.edu/ants/photogallery/images/War_J_104_MM7324_080619_03941.jpg
Bugscope TeamIt is a weaver ant. They live in trees and use silk produced by their larvae to create nests out of leaves
- TeacherCan we please see one of the butterfly images or bees?
Bugscope Teamthis, now, is the head of the bee!
Bugscope Teamyou can see that the bee has little piles of pollen on one of its compound eyes
- 3:47 pm
- StudentParis
- Bugscope Teamthis is the bee's compound eye in the foreground, and some pollen in the background
- TeacherDo you think bees are allergic to pollen?
Bugscope Teamhaha I hope not!
- StudentDoes The pollen feel furry
Bugscope Teamit is so very small we may never know how it would actually feel to us
Bugscope Teamit is sticky, and it would cling to you like a burr
- StudentWhat do you look like mr Josh.
Bugscope TeamJosh is quite presentable when he is not collecting ants.
Bugscope Teamgoogle Fabio. That's what I look like :)
Bugscope TeamJK
Bugscope Teamhaha!
- TeacherIs it true that if a bee stings you, it cannot sting again?
Bugscope TeamFor honeybees this is true. They have barbed stingers that get stuck in our tough skin. For other bees such as bumble bees, and wasps, this is not the case, and they can sting multiple times
Bugscope Teamyes as Fabio says, honeybee stingers get caught in mammalian skin, and they pull out of the bee's body. the bee then bleeds out...
Bugscope Teamhoneybees can sting other insects, for example, multiple times without losing their stingers
- 3:53 pm
- TeacherWhich type of bee is this?
Bugscope Teamthis is a honeybee
Bugscope Teamthe bee people tell us that only bees have forked, or multi-branched setae (the hairs)
- StudentWhy does the bee stinger
Bugscope TeamSavanah what was the whole question?
- TeacherFabio, what is above the stinger that looks like feathers. :)
Bugscope TeamThose are the bees hairs. the Entomological term for them is setae. Notice that each setae has multiple tinier hairs coming off of them; these are called compound setae ( I think; double checking atm) and are diagnostic of bees (i.e. all bees have compound setae)
Bugscope TeamBranched setae is the appropriate term, not compound. my bad guys
- StudentScot our friend Ella just got here could you tell her a little bit about his picture is in the steamer thank you
Bugscope Teamabove we see a lot of setae, which is what the hairs are called, and they are at the tip of the abdomen. pointing out below is the bee's stinger, and in and among the setae are little pollen grains
- StudentLillian is here to live with her sister Emily
Bugscope TeamSweet!
- StudentWhy does the bee stinger look pointy?
Bugscope TeamThe bee has to use the stinger to pierce skin and insect cuticle in order to inject its venom and defend itself and the colony. If it was blunt It would not be very affective. It would be like you went to the doctor and he tried to give you a shot with a hollow hammer.
- Bugscope Teamnow we see more of the abdomen, and some of the limbs
- StudentCool
- StudentCan a bee lay eggs
Bugscope Teamthe queen does!
Bugscope TeamThe workers have undeveloped ovaries and so cannot lay eggs as long as a queen is producing pheromones to repress their ovarian development
- StudentSummer, Why do bees sting
Bugscope TeamA bee uses its sting as a defense mechanism. They sting to defend their hive from potential intruders
- Bugscope Teamthis looks like a stinger but is actually the stylet of a true bug
- 3:59 pm
- TeacherIs this still a bee? or a butterfly?
Bugscope Teamthis is a true bug, which is what a stinkbug is and what a bed bug is as well
- StudentCan you show a picture of a butterfly
Bugscope Teamthis is a butterfly
- StudentIs this a tongue of a butterfly
- StudentI mean Fly
- TeacherWhat is the spiral part?
Bugscope TeamThe spiral is the butterfly's proboscis. It can uncurl it and use it to lap up nectar from flowers
- StudentOh Lilian and Emily.
- StudentElla, How many legs do Isopods have?
Bugscope TeamI think they have seven pairs and sometimes nine pairs; I am sorry I am not sure.
- 4:04 pm
- StudentLillian and Emily, Can you show a picture of a butterfly
Bugscope Teamthis is the head of a butterfly. and the spiral part, which is in an odd position, is indeed the proboscis, or tongue
Bugscope TeamScott, are we Lillian and Emily? I thought I was Fabio...
- StudentNo problem ,Ella
- TeacherThey are having some confusion as to where to put their names. They are sharing tablets.
Bugscope TeamGotchya, Josh/Fabio
Bugscope Teamhaha!
- StudentWhat are the big round things, Emily
Bugscope TeamThose are compound eyes
- Bugscope Teamwe are at the edge of the world in the image we see now -- we are looking over the microscope stage and into the microscope
- StudentIt has seven pairs of short legs for the Isopod, Summer
Bugscope Teamyay! Thank you, Summer!
- TeacherCan we zoom in on the compound eyes please?
Bugscope Teamyes we can!
- StudentFound it in a book, Summer
- StudentWhat is the hair
Bugscope Teamthe hair we see so often helps insects sense their surroundings. it is sensory, and depending on the hair, or setae, it can be mechanosensory, chemosensory, thermosensory, and also used for proprioception, which is self-sensgin
Bugscope Teamselfsensing...
Bugscope TeamIn the case of butterflies and moths, most of these hairs are modified into scale like structures, which can easily break off and allow these insects to easily escape from spider webs. They also allow for very colorful patterns to develop in butterfly wings, which they use in mating displays
- StudentIs this a compound eye, Summer and Mia
Bugscope Teamyes it is!
- Bugscope TeamI am going to the microscope itself to drive...
- TeacherMaria is wondering if the spots on the compound eye are healing spots?
Bugscope Teamunlikely. Once an insect reaches adulthood it (with very rare exceptions) ceases to grow, including tissue repair like you are speaking of.
- StudentWhat are the scraps on the compound eye, Emily and Lilian
- StudentWhat's your favorite about being a bug scientists
Bugscope Teamit is really fun. we are looking at these kind of alien creatures that live around and near us and have to solve many of the same problems we do
Bugscope TeamIts a great way to pick up ladybugs ;)
- 4:10 pm
- Student"Are you guys in college?"Mia
Bugscope TeamI am! I am currently a masters student. Scott, while "in college" in the locality sense of the phrase (i.e. he works at a university), is not.
- StudentWhat are those lines and what is that, Summer and Emily
Bugscope Teamso when we went up to high mag on the compound eye we found that it is very dirty, and it also has loose sva\
Bugscope Teamscales on it, which Josh/Fabio had mentioned.
Bugscope Teamthis is one of the scales, and the horizontal lines we see are so small that they interfere with visible light and can cause you to see interference colors, called strructural colors
- Teacherwhat is this?
Bugscope Teamthis is part of a wing scale on the eye of the moth
- StudentWhat kind of bug is this, Summer
Bugscope Teamwe are still looking at a butterfly, just extremely close up
- StudentYou guys are funny and fun.
Bugscope Teamyay! Thank you!
- StudentWhat did the cockroach say to the other?
Bugscope Teamuhoh... I don't know
- StudentYou bug me
Bugscope Teamhaha! of course!
- 4:15 pm
- StudentJosh how old are you?
Bugscope Team22
- Bugscope Teamthe things in all of the little compartments are pigment granules
- StudentAnt-arctica
- StudentWhat do you get when you cross a pig and a centipede
Bugscope Teama centipig?
- Teacherwhy do cockroaches eat wood houses?
Bugscope Teamoh no? are we supposed to know this?
Bugscope TeamI give up.
Bugscope TeamIs this a joke or a question lol?
- StudentNo bacon and legs
- Teacherwhat is this? Emiy
Bugscope Teamthatr \\
Bugscope Teamsorry cannot type
Bugscope Teamthat was (bacon and eggs!) one of the scales, but on end.
- StudentWhat is the biggest ant in the world?
Bugscope TeamDinoponera are the biggest in terms of worker body size
- Bugscope Teamthis is the stinger of one of the smaller ants
- StudentI ment to say why do termites eat wood houses
Bugscope Teamum because they can digest cellulose?
Bugscope Teamto get to the other side (termites are extreme parkourers)
- Bugscope Teamthis is a mutant rabbit
- 4:20 pm
- Teachercan you show a fly?Emily
Bugscope Teamyes we can!
- Bugscope Teamthis is the fly's head
- StudentMy question is not a joke
Bugscope Team... neither was my answer ;)
Bugscope TeamJK
Bugscope TeamTermites are decomposers that typically consume dead plant material, mainly wood for most species. Since we make our houses out of piles of dead wood, its like a buffet to them
- Bugscope Teamthis is a fly!
- Student"Thanks" Mia, Summer.
- StudentThank you for answering our questions
- Bugscope TeamQuestion for the Kids: How many wings does a fly have?
- Teacherthanks,Emliy and
- Bugscope TeamThank you, everyone.
- Student5 Mia and Summer
Bugscope Teamjust a teensie bit high there M&S
- Student4
Bugscope TeamMost insects have 4 wings, but not flies :) good guess though
- Bugscope Teamthis fly has only one wing and so far we can see only one haltere
- StudentThis was fun.lol
- 4:26 pm
- StudentBye M&S
- Student2
Bugscope Teamyay!
Bugscope TeamDiptera is the same as di ptera, which means 'two wings'
Bugscope Teammost flies have 2 wings and a pair of halteres, which used to be wings but are now reduced to gyroscope-like structures which help stabilize the fly as it flies
Bugscope TeamThere are some unusual wingless parasitic flies as well. They're not the norm for flies though
- Teacherwhat is this?Emily
Bugscope Teamthis is the back of the fly -- we can see part of a wing, and we can see the haltere, which is very small, and the thorax and part of the abdomen
- Bugscope TeamThank you so much for working with us! This was indeed fun!
- Bugscope TeamSee you next year!
- Student"Bye Josh and Scot"Mia and Summer
Bugscope Teamso long! farewell! auf wiedersehen! goodbye!
- Bugscope TeamBye Everyone!
