Connected on 2008-04-24 12:00:00 from Tucson, AZ, US
- 11:53am
- Guest hi
- Bugscope Team welcome back
- Guest i had a problem with my computer
- Bugscope Team the class should be connecting soon
- Guest k
- Bugscope Team Welcome to Bugscope!
- Bugscope Team hello cavett elementary! welcome to bugscope
- Bugscope Team hello welcome to bugscope
- Bugscope Team You have control of the 'scope, and let us know if you need any help or have any questions.
- Teacher Hello. My class will be getting to the computer in about 10 minutes. We didn't submit an insect. Is there a way that you can just show is through some
- Bugscope Team absolutely. we've already setup the session with several cool bugs for you
- Bugscope Team You can click through the presets, to the right, if you would like.
- Bugscope Team thats ok if you didnt send us insects. when that happens, I put some of our own from stock on a stub for you
- Bugscope Team we've got: ant, true bug, beetle, moth, fruit fly and a pill bug
- Bugscope Team Each preset will take a few seconds to load, since clicking actually drives the microscope to that place.
- Bugscope Team and from any of those positions you can change mag, move, focus -- pretty much whatever you would like to do.
- 11:59am
- Bugscope Team Are you comfortable using the controls?
- Bugscope Team Just try clicking on a preset to start out.
- Bugscope Team nancy, can you see this chat? i'm worried you are at a low screen resolution (800x600) and can't see this chat
- Guest what is this bug/
Bugscope Team this is an ant
- Bugscope Team this is an ant
- Guest oh
- Guest ok
- Bugscope Team this is an earwig, now, close up
- Bugscope Team Sheesh no I mean a pillbug.
- Bugscope Team rolypoly is another name for pillbug
- Guest cool
- Bugscope Team they are a crustacean and so they are related to crabs and lobsters
- 12:04pm
- Guest are millapeades and centapeads like that, too?
Bugscope Team those are a different classification
- Bugscope Team nancy, we think you are having some connection problems, is everything okay?
- Teacher yes. My class is logged in now.
- Bugscope Team ok, great, can you see the controls on the right side of your browser?
- Guest oh ok
- Teacher What part are we looking at?
Bugscope Team this is the head of a rolypoly
- Bugscope Team this is the underside of the head of a rolypoly
- Bugscope Team a rolypoly is also known as a pill bug
- Bugscope Team or a sowbug, or a woodlouse
- Bugscope Team nancy, your login (teacher2) has control of the scope, you can move the image anywhere you like
- Teacher I'd rather you guys just show the class around
- Bugscope Team Okay.
- Bugscope Team okay, no problem, scott you want to drive?
- Bugscope Team scott will drive while we tell you cool things about the images, sound good?
- Bugscope Team Yeah unless Cataku wants to drive.
- Bugscope Team all these images are shades of black and white, that is because the image is from an electron microscope
- Bugscope Team no you are best at driving the scope scott, its all you
- Bugscope Team electron microscopes use electrons to gather the image
- Teacher what animal is this?
Bugscope Team this is a rolypoly which is a crustacean. they are related to lobsters and crabs
- Bugscope Team this is a pill bug
- 12:09pm
- Guest what part of the rolypoly is this?
Bugscope Team this is a claw
- Bugscope Team pill bugs are called isopods because all of their feet (the -pod) are the same (iso-).
- Teacher What are the spikes on their arm?
- Bugscope Team those spikes are called setae (see-tee)
- Bugscope Team well, the small spikes are setae
- Bugscope Team yes they are setae (pronounced see-tee)
- Bugscope Team and the very small ones are microsetae
- Bugscope Team sure thing!
- Bugscope Team okay
- Bugscope Team scott, drive us to the head good buddie
- Bugscope Team scott, if you want me to drive, so you can type, that's cool by me?
- Bugscope Team rolypolys have 4 sets of jaws
- Teacher how big does the pill bug grow?
Bugscope Team some pillbugs that live in the sea can get pretty big- to around 20cm
- Bugscope Team there is part of the eye
- Bugscope Team this is the only view we have of the eye
- Guest how many legs do rolypolys have?
Bugscope Team i believe they have 7 pairs of legs, so 14
- Guest wow i didnt know that
- 12:14pm
- Bugscope Team pillbugs are not insects; they are crustaceans, as Cate had said earlier
- Bugscope Team see the antennae?
- Teacher do you have any insects?
Bugscope Team yes we have some true bugs, an ant, a moth, and a beetle
- Bugscope Team now we are looking at an insect
- Bugscope Team this is a moth
- Bugscope Team can you see it now?
- Bugscope Team Hello all
- Bugscope Team you can see the eyes, and the proboscis...
- Bugscope Team yay Annie!
- Bugscope Team the proboscis is curled up
- Teacher do they have compound eyes?
Bugscope Team yes, they have 2 compound eyes that are spherical, and have the hexagon pattern on the
- Bugscope Team it acts like a straw for the moth
- Teacher is this the mouth?
- Bugscope Team the eyes are the big round things (yes, compound eyes) with individual facets. each one of those facets, called ommatidiae, has a lens in it
- Teacher how long do they grow
Bugscope Team Some moths have probosci that are several times longer than their bodies. when fully unrolled
- Bugscope Team and you can see one of the compound eyes to the right -- the dome like thing
- Guest is a moth basicly a butterfly only its ussualy out at night?
Bugscope Team Butterflies have clubbed antennae and generally fly during the day. Moths have non-clubbed antennae and are (generally) active at night.
- Bugscope Team these are small moths, I think
- Bugscope Team little more than a centimeter long
- Bugscope Team now you can see better where we were
- Bugscope Team you can see some of the scales now
- Guest ok
- Teacher how long do they live?
Bugscope Team Most insects live one full year, from the time the egg is layed to the time that the adult dies. The amount of time the insect spends in each life stage varies between species.
- 12:19pm
- Teacher what is this?
- Guest i have to go but ill be back on later k?
- Bugscope Team now you can see some of the scales, and the holes where there used to be scales
- Bugscope Team ok see you later chickscoperocks
- Bugscope Team sure chick!
- Teacher What are the scales for?
- Teacher How do they breathe?
Bugscope Team Insects breathe through spiracles, which are holes in their bodies. They typically have spiracles on each segment of the abdomen, and other places. These openings are like nostrils, they connect with trachea that make up the insects resipratory system
- Teacher Do they have a nose?
Bugscope Team The spiracles are like nostrils to breathe, and the antennae help the moth to smell
- Teacher Do they have a mouth?
Bugscope Team moths have a proboscis that acts like a straw
- Teacher Do insects have blood?
- Bugscope Team insects have a substance called hemolymph that is sort of like blood
- 12:25pm
- Bugscope Team they don't have a closed circulatory system, though -- the hemolymph bathes the inner organs rather than moving through arteries and veins
- Teacher is the hemlymph, similair to the lymph found in humans?
Bugscope Team Not really. Insect hemolymph does not carry oxygen like human blood does. Hemolymph serves primarily to transport hormones and other compounds around the body. And yes, it is the most important part of the insect immune system
- Bugscope Team in a way it is similar; for example it is usually clear
- Teacher Do they have an immune system via the lymph
- Bugscope Team the scales act the same as the feathers on a bird
- Bugscope Team um we will have to ask Annie about the immune system
Bugscope Team Insects have an immune system that is able to recognize "self" from "non-self." Different type of hemolymph cells recognize pathogens or foreign objects and work to either digest or encapsulate the invader to prevent it from causing harm to the insect. What insects don't have is an immune system with memory...they do not develop antibodies or immunity to infections like humans do
- Teacher What about others systems? Do they have digestive, lymph?
Bugscope Team They have a digestive system that is similar to that of humans. They really don't have digestive juices the same way that we do. Insects that eat solid food have something like teeth at the end of their esophagus that physically grinds up solids. Some insects have symbiotic fungi and bacteria that can help them break down other more complex food items. The absorption of food is by ciliate cells that line the gut.
- Teacher Thats a nice shot. What r we looking @
- Bugscope Team little scar marks on the ant jaws
- Bugscope Team you can see that they have lots and lots of setae
- Bugscope Team which are often sensory
- 12:30pm
- Teacher how does the digestive tract work?
- Teacher WOW!
- Bugscope Team My answers are slow in coming, I am trying to be as complete as possible
- Teacher Thank you we appreciate it.
- Bugscope Team it's alive!
- Bugscope Team heh
- Bugscope Team the electrons are making the setae move
- 12:35pm
- Bugscope Team nancy, notice the scalebar in the lower right of the image, that tells you size. 1 um = one micron, that is one-millionth of a meter
- Teacher Do they have neurotransmitters, and electrical pre and post synamptic ganglion like humans?
Bugscope Team Yes...very similar. They use acteylcholine and GABA just like us. There are some differences in the number and types of neurons, for example insects don't have a lot of interneurons, and most insect muscle is striated, but overall the insect nervous system is very similar to that of humans. That is what makes insects such great models for studying how brains work in all animals.
- Bugscope Team I think we are following fungal hyphae
- Teacher Wow that is really intresting.
- 12:40pm
- Bugscope Team Hello!
- Teacher Is this a different insect.
- Bugscope Team this is a true bug
- Bugscope Team the head of a hemipteran
- Bugscope Team with piercing mouthparts
- Bugscope Team wow, nice focus field there...
- Bugscope Team nice scott!
- Bugscope Team this is the tip of the proboscis
- Bugscope Team it has tiny setae on it that likely help it taste what it will be sampling with its long mouthparts
- Teacher Do they have hearts, Na, K pumps? Something that moves the hemolymph through the body? Does the straited muscle move the fluid like the skeletal muscle in humans?
Bugscope Team They have a dorsal heart and a ventral nerve chord. They have an open circulatory systems and I don't think that it is controlled by muscles in insects (although I could be mistaken on that---or there could be exceptions). Some insects have auxilliary pumps that help to push hemolymph into tight spots, like antennae and wings. They have sodium and potassium pumps. Insecticides such as DDT target the Na/K pumps.
- Bugscope Team another example of the proboscis is the elephant trunk. that is the largest proboscis in the animal world.
- 12:45pm
- Bugscope Team this is where a pin went through
- Bugscope Team tenent setae
- 12:50pm
- Teacher We're going to have to get going. Thanks a lot for all the information you provided. Our class really appreciates it
- Bugscope Team that looks cool
- Bugscope Team Thank You!
- Bugscope Team thanks for all the great questions
- Bugscope Team I'm glad we had annie here to help us :)
- Teacher thank you for all your answer and help today, very intresting.
- Bugscope Team Thank you!
- Bugscope Team Annie-Chan I think we are done.
- Bugscope Team Thank you for connecting today. We would've been lost.
- 12:55pm
- Bugscope Team tomrrow?
- Bugscope Team tomorrow 9AM
- Bugscope Team yeah if you can make it
- Bugscope Team not at 12..well that is good
- Bugscope Team it is pajama time for you
- Bugscope Team I will try to get my butt out of bed at 7 am
- Bugscope Team oh yeah Annie you can sleep in tomorrow
- Bugscope Team actually we do have a nice rock to look at with lots of fossils
- Bugscope Team I bet they don't askes advanced insect physiology questions!
- Bugscope Team I need to read my book.
- Bugscope Team Well, I will try nonetheless...
- Bugscope Team My giant bug book.
- Bugscope Team That would be cool.
- Bugscope Team I want to use the microCT to look into amber
- Bugscope Team okay, shall we close up the session?
- Bugscope Team I don't think that book would have helped you. You would need Reg. Chapman's Insect Physiology book
- Bugscope Team OK people. See you tomrrow, bright and early ;)
- Bugscope Team bye bye
- Bugscope Team some people have been specializing in insects in amber
- Bugscope Team later Mademoiselle!
- Bugscope Team over and out -- back to the protein
- Bugscope Team from the pre teen to the pro tein
- Bugscope Team rxl stopped, session locked and disabled
- Bugscope Team good session everyone! bye bye
