Session 2009-105 with Brattleboro Union High School

Application

The School

The Class

The Project

Miscellaneous

Live Session Transcript

Connected on 2009-12-14 10:00:00 from , VT, US

• 8:58am
• Bugscope Team almost ready to start setting up presets
• Bugscope Team Good morning!
• Bugscope Team Welcome to Bugscope!
• Teacher Hello! We'll be on in an hour. Looks cool!
• Bugscope Team Just got things going. Should be fun.
• Teacher I gave the link and password to a couple other classes as well, who may join in.
• Bugscope Team Cool.
• 9:03am

• 9:10am

• 9:18am

• 9:25am

• 9:30am

• 9:37am

• 9:42am

• 9:52am
• Bugscope Team we are ready to roll
• Bugscope Team session is unlocked
• 10:01am
• Teacher on in 3 minutes!
• Bugscope Team all right!
• Bugscope Team this is a common black ground beetle
• 10:08am
• Teacher magnified how many times?
• Bugscope Team 2610x
• Bugscope Team right now it's 2610x, as seen in the upper right corner
• Teacher what part of the beetle?
  Bugscope Team it's the open tip of one of the palps
• Bugscope Team if you click on the micron bar, lower left on the image, you can see the 'scope parameters
• Bugscope Team these guys eat other insects, mostly smaller beetles, aphids, worms, maggots...

• Bugscope Team now you can see a scale on the tip of that jaw
• Bugscope Team big jaws
• Bugscope Team looks like it actually has six palps

• Bugscope Team you can see carbon doublestick tape in the background
• Teacher thanks a lot
• Bugscope Team good job focusing
• 10:13am

• Bugscope Team we mount, as usual, most of the samples on the dorsal side -- ventral side up

• Teacher what kind of moth are we viewing?
  Bugscope Team this is on the moth
• Bugscope Team this is the moth's proboscis, which is usually coiled when not being used

• Bugscope Team it was orange, an odd color of orange, not sure what kind
• Bugscope Team like a burnt orange color
• Teacher why are their hairs on the proboscis?
  Bugscope Team well, those hairs are called setae (See-tee), and they help insects to sense their environment. the setae on the proboscis probably aid in smelling the food? maybe even tasting it?
• Teacher *there

• Bugscope Team insects have an exoskeleton, not skin like we do. the exoskeleton is hard and has no nerves in it.
• Bugscope Team some of the setae on the proboscis also likely help the moth retain its hold on the flower while it is sucking nectar out of it

• Bugscope Team so those hairs (setae) stick through the exoskeleton to nerves underneath, and that's how bugs feel things

• Bugscope Team the proboscis is extended like one of those New Years party favors, by forcing hemolymph into it.
• Bugscope Team insects are a lot hairier than they seem

• Bugscope Team one of the compound eyes
• 10:19am
• Bugscope Team these guys can often see in the ultraviolet wavelengths, and we cannot
• Teacher I'm having a tad bit of trouble navigating. Would you mind moving the microscope to the moth's eye?

• Bugscope Team braden, can you click again in the image, to stop it from moving?
• Bugscope Team looks like click to drive was left on
• Bugscope Team i think you are in a click to drive motion, and you need to click again to stop
• Bugscope Team make sure NOT to double click as well

• Bugscope Team all the clicks are single clicks
• Bugscope Team yay!!! nice job
• Teacher why shucks, thank you
• Bugscope Team now, you can click on any preset and it will take you there
• Teacher nifty
• Bugscope Team when using navigation, i'd stick to click to center, it's so much easier. click on a preset to move to a new location

• Bugscope Team cool, you got it :)
• Teacher sure, will do

• Bugscope Team this is a close-up of a moth compound eye
• Bugscope Team if you zoom out again you can see the whole thing...

• Bugscope Team spider claw
• Bugscope Team like a little rake
• Bugscope Team ah, cool, now this is a spider claw
• Bugscope Team spiders often cannot see very well, although they usually have eight eyes. they are much more sensitive to vibration, and they have what are called plumose setae.
• Teacher Why thank you kind sir

• Bugscope Team many insects have claws of some kind. they use them to grab onto things, defense, ensnarl food, etc.
• Bugscope Team plumose means they are symmetrical, like a long pine tree

• 10:24am
• Bugscope Team spiders also have this kind of cool thing they can do if they sense venom entering one of their limbs -- they can just let it fall off. It's called autotomy, or autotomizing a limb.
• Bugscope Team notice the scale bar in the lower left of the image

• Bugscope Team 1 um = 1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter

• Bugscope Team see the eyes? and below, those bug things like buck teeth are the chelicerae

• Bugscope Team at the lower ends of the chelicers (the chelicerae) are the fangs, which point inward. we often (like today) do not see them.
• Bugscope Team spiders inject venom into their prey that dissolve the internal organs of the prey, and then they suck it all back up like a milkshake.
• Teacher After an arachnid 'drops' a leg which is infected with venom, does it have the ability to regrow the limb?
  Bugscope Team if the spider molts, and sometimes they do, it can come out of the molt with a new limb.

• Bugscope Team tarantulas, like other spiders, are softbodied, so they can easily be broken open
• Teacher Why thank you Scot, your a most gracious navigator
• Teacher *you're
• 10:30am
• Teacher I must log off now, but i do wish you a pleasent day and a happy Hanukkah
• Bugscope Team Oh....
• Bugscope Team Thank You!
• Bugscope Team thanks braden
• Bugscope Team thank you for doing bugscope with us
• Teacher any time my friend
• Bugscope Team braden, all the chat and images are saved to your member page
• Bugscope Team http://bugscope.beckman.illinois.edu/members/2009-105
• Bugscope Team okay, closing the session down
• Bugscope Team good bye!