Connected on 2010-09-24 13:30:00 from Bozeman, Mt, US
- 12:28pm
- Bugscope Team okay microscope is still pumping down
- Bugscope Team this is a CCD view of the chamber while we wait for the vacuum to get a little better
- Bugscope Team (this is Scott)
- Bugscope Team heh nice login
- Bugscope Team name
- Bugscope Team vacuum is almost there
- Bugscope Team Hello Beaver
- Guest Greetings from Canada. We're excited to see a session unfold live
- Guest Which arthropods are those?
- Bugscope Team um I am not sure -- Cate made the sample
- Bugscope Team she's back and forth, not right here right now
- Bugscope Team I have a meeting right when the session starts at 1:30 our time
- 12:34pm
- Bugscope Team centipede june bug ladybug fly wasp dragonfly head moth roly poly earwig
- Bugscope Team weevil and spider
- Guest quite a selection
- Bugscope Team vacuum just landed
- Bugscope Team first Cate will make some adjustments to the 'scope
- Bugscope Team then she'll start making presets
- Bugscope Team during this time we keep people locked out; we don't allow them to control the 'scope
- Bugscope Team that would just be the first person who logged in as a teacher; that person automatically gets control
- Bugscope Team I just gave Beaver control, but he is locked out
- 12:39pm
- Guest I think I am just a guest
- Guest this is very cool stuff
- Bugscope Team yeah you are just a guest but we conferred control to you; still you are locked out
- Bugscope Team right now Cate is cruising through the sample, using a map she made to help find all of the critters; then she pinpoints something we will make into a preset for the session
- Bugscope Team when our participant gets control, she/he can click on presets to get around, but it is also possible to drive the 'scope outright
- Bugscope Team you can see a lot of charging on the weevil antenna, so Cate i driving elsewhere
- Guest amazing
- Bugscope Team *is*
- 12:45pm
- Bugscope Team Centipede with brachydactylism
- 12:51pm
- Bugscope Team you can see that the presets are starting to add up
- Guest yes
- Guest would the person in control simply click on a preset?
- 12:56pm
- Bugscope Team yes. but the person in control can also change the mag, click to center to move around, focus, adjust contrast/brightness
- Bugscope Team kind of a nasty fly, no sponging mouthparts
- Bugscope Team I am sitting at the server computer, next to the 'scope, and Cate is sitting at the 'scope
- Bugscope Team so I am typing the presets in as Cate finds them
- Bugscope Team ecdysis
- 1:01pm
- Bugscope Team these guys are related to ants
- Bugscope Team stinger is missing
- Bugscope Team Cate is looking for the hamuli
- Bugscope Team but stopped at the spiracle for a sec
- 1:07pm
- Bugscope Team no hamuli visible
- Bugscope Team Mr McG!
- Bugscope Team Welcome to Bugscope!
- Teacher Hi guys...We'll have a crew of kids in about 10 minutes! Thanks!
- 1:12pm
- Bugscope Team Cate is making the presets.
- Bugscope Team I have (this is Scott) a meeting right when the session starts, so Cate will be your sole guide today.
- Teacher No problem...I'll be back in a minute...need step into the hall as kids come back from lunch.
- 1:18pm
- Bugscope Team alright, Cate is done. I am heading to my meeting.
- Bugscope Team Cate will on in a sec
- Bugscope Team the session is unlocked and ready to roll when you are
- 1:26pm
- Teacher OK back....students will start logging in soon
- Bugscope Team ok great
- Bugscope Team hey everyone!
- Student This bug is huge!
Bugscope Team actually this is a very small insect for today. It just looks big.
- Student yeah it is
- Student hey!
- Student its creepy
- Student hey!
- Student ok
- Student what is it
Bugscope Team We aren't sure what type of bug this is. Looks like some type of beetle
- Student who's chaos
Bugscope Team That's just the computer's name that is in the room with the microscope
- Student oh of course :). It's just enlarged!
- Student ya
- Student scott who??
- Student @linda wait what?
- Student hey
- Student What are you talking about Linda?
- Student ;
- Student itsfuzzy
- Student whts up
- Student hi
- Student what kind of bug is it
- Student wowowowowowowow
- Student wht
- Student /linda hi
- Student coollll
- Student so does chris
- Student wow
- Student wht are we sapose to do
- Student he looks confused
- Student can we see differend insects
- Student finklebugers
- Student hello are u there
- Student i think so
- Student no
- Student im here
- 1:31pm
- Student this is cool
- Student that is 1 huge bug man!!!!
- Student helo
- Student we know that
- Student next picture mss
- Bugscope Team So mr. mcgeehan can either drive around himself or he can ask us to confer control to one of you and you can drive to the different insects
- Student who is chaos
- Student ya
- Student i see you chad
- Student linda its small
- Student sparkels
- Student is that bug doing something
- Bugscope Team to the right is the abdomen and pincers of an earwig- one of those pincer bugs
- Bugscope Team so this insect is smaller than the pincers
- Student chaos is a awsome name
- Student a bug
- Bugscope Team The background is carbon tape (the bubbly stuff) and it's used to stick the insects to
- Bugscope Team we stick most insects on their backs/dorsal side because the ventral side is the more interesting part to look at
- Bugscope Team the top of the head is to the upper right and the roundish hairy thing is one of the antennae
- Student what is the fuzzy apendage
Bugscope Team that is the antenna. And you can see they are very hairy. Hairs on insects are called setae (see-tee). They have different functions like touch, smell/taste
- Bugscope Team The bumpy part is the compound eye. You can see it looks like a beehive
- 1:36pm
- Student why does it have so many bubbles on it's eyes kate?
Bugscope Team They are each connected to a series of nerves and are thought to each get a bit of the picture of what it sees. The bits are collected and assembled in the brain
- Bugscope Team The hexagons are the best shape to fit the most in a rounded object.
- Student why is there hairs on the eyeballs?
Bugscope Team those short stiff hairs are helpful for feeling
- Bugscope Team The more bumps, or as they are called ommatidia, the better they are thought to see
- Bugscope Team Flies, moths, butterflies- those flying insects, have a lot of ommatidia
- Student Can these beetles see the way we can? For example, do they see colors and but do they also see things in double?
Bugscope Team Some insects like bees only see certain colors. I'm not sure what that beetle can see
- Bugscope Team this is a small moth
- Bugscope Team you can see the eyes take up most of the head
- 1:42pm
- Bugscope Team Those things it's covered in are scales
- Student are the insects still alive
Bugscope Team No They are all dead. These samples are sitting in a vacuum, so the insects would quickly die and probably ooze out their insides if they were alive
- Bugscope Team Scales do have a defensive purpose- they can shed some to help get out of a spider web
- Student How is this micro scope different from the rest ?
Bugscope Team This microscope is acting in regular high vacuum mode, but we can change it to work in environmental mode as well, where we can put the chamber to 100% relative humidity and look at wet samples.
- Student how much did the electron micro scope cost
Bugscope Team this cost about $600,000 around 11 years ago. I'm not sure how much it would cost nowadays
- Bugscope Team right now all these insects are dried, which makes them great for bugscope because they retain their shape after drying
- Bugscope Team This is a fly claw, and the little pads around it are called pullvilli, each pullvillus has tennent setae which help the fly walk on vertical surfaces
- Bugscope Team like velcro or suction cups
- 1:47pm
- Bugscope Team the end of each leg has a claw, but sometimes the insects get a little brittle as they dry out so some claws or legs may be missing
- Bugscope Team there is also a bit of lint on this insect
- Student .
- Student what are the setea used for on the rest of the body?
Bugscope Team Most of the hair on the body is for touch. It can't feel things through its exoskeleton like we can through our skin. The hairs are connected to nerves beneath the exoskeleton
- Bugscope Team I believe this is a horsefly because it has biting mouthparts
- Bugscope Team Insects are a lot hairier than they may seem
- Bugscope Team This is a spiracle, which is a breathing hole for insects. They dont have noses like we do
- Student .is this a spiracle
Bugscope Team Yes!
- Bugscope Team These holes are connected to a long tube that runs throughout the body, called a trachea
- 1:52pm
- Student what is that
Bugscope Team This is the wasp head. The mouth has a pair of jaws that have 3 prongs on them. They open like a gate, not like ours
- Bugscope Team You are doing a great job driving around Mr. McGeehan!
- Bugscope Team Though I know you've done this a few times already
- Teacher Thanks! kids are lovin' it
- Bugscope Team The thing curving around the head is the antenna
- Student why do the insect cross the hands when they die
Bugscope Team That's a good question, I think part of it is due to it drying up, and it kind of just shrivels that way
- Student thanks
- Bugscope Team These are mites on an earwig. They are parasites that we don't know too much about. We think they have a symbiotic relationship and for some reason they die with the host
- Student thanks
- Bugscope Team you can see little round bumps all over
- Student can the mites live in anything else than an earwig
Bugscope Team Yes but they are found more often on earwigs. I'm not sure the reason for that. Maybe the earwig can't clean them off so easily as other bugs
- Student ?
- 1:57pm
- Student what is the line on the eye
Bugscope Team It's something that doesn't belong to the insect. Some type of juju- stuff that we don't always know what it is, but know that it doesn't belong there
- Student 1234567890098765431234567890-=][po
- Bugscope Team It could be plant particles or dirt
- Student thank you
- Bugscope Team Flies have huge eyes making it so they can see almost 360 degrees around it
- Student oke doke
- Bugscope Team Electrons are smaller than photons, making it so we can zoom in even more than a regular ligh microscope
- Bugscope Team We can resolve things as small as 2 nanometers
- Student .310
- Student why do they have so many segments on there leg
Bugscope Team it allows the insect to bend their legs. It's not easy to bend their leg if it's just one piece of exoskeleton. It's like us trying to bend our bones
- 2:03pm
- Student HOW
Bugscope Team They have little muscle attachments underneath that they can flex
- Bugscope Team You are all asking such great questions!
- Student after the insects die is there any thing else you do to them
Bugscope Team Nope. For bugscope I stick them on the carbon tape that is affixed to an aluminum disk. Then we coat them in a very thin layer of gold/palladium alloy and stick them in the microscope
- Student thank u
- Student whats your backround in training Cate?
Bugscope Team I got my bachelor degree in Physics believe it or not. I started working with bugscope in 2005 and since then have been learning about insects. I know about as much as some entomologists probably
- Student LLLLLKKKKJJJJHHHH
- Student are the claws sharp
Bugscope Team They are mainly used for grabbing onto things. You might have felt a ladybug cling to you once it landed on you. You don't really feel them. They can seem sharp to other insects though I bet
- Student Thanks Cate
- Student what is that
Bugscope Team We are on the spider. They have special hairs for feeling vibrations
- Student thank you
- Student where did u get your bachelor degree
Bugscope Team Here at the University of Illinois
- Student cool
- Student dggsghbghuggfhsdiuaghdhdyhgsgy
- Student thanx cate this was cool
- Student bye bye cate!!! thank u!!!!
- Student HOLHI IM SORRY FOR WHAT I DI
- Bugscope Team Spiders have simple eyes
- Student thank you
- Student ur awesome
- Student Thanks!
- Student thank u
- Student thank you that was fun.
- Student thanks and bye! from Jackie. this was interesting and cool
- Student thank u that micro scope is awesome have a good day bye :)
- Student TAHNK YOU
- Student thank u
- Student thank u
- Student bye that was cool
- Student thanks u are e the best ever
- 2:08pm
- Student thank u
- Student goodbye cate you where awsomer than bugs and i think that b ugs are even more gross. haha thank you. goodbye
- Bugscope Team Thanks and have a great weekend!
- Student thank u!!ur awesome!!!
- Student thanks from casssie you are awsome -.-
- Bugscope Team awesome, well I still think some bugs are gross
- Teacher Cate....great job..I'll be back in about 10 with one more crew of kids!
Bugscope Team Ok can't wait!
- 2:16pm
- Teacher Here they come!
- Bugscope Team Ok I'm here ready!
- Student wozup
- Bugscope Team Hi!
- Bugscope Team we are looking at a spider that is standing up look up at us
- Student When did you become interested in Arthropods?
Bugscope Team I never set out to learn all about them. It kind of found me. I started working in the lab and then one day in 2005 someone asked me to log in and help (even though I didn't know anything) and since then I've been learning all about insects and other related things
- Student WAT IS TAT
Bugscope Team we were looking at a spider, now we are looking at individual scales on a small moth
- Bugscope Team This is the same as the powder that comes off the wings, they are that small
- 2:22pm
- Bugscope Team Those small holes you see are nanometers big
- Bugscope Team Scales can be shed without hurting the moth
- Bugscope Team The moth can lose some to shake out of a spider web sometimes, which is pretty cool
- Bugscope Team The background behind the wing is carbon tape.
- Bugscope Team Here's the moth head
- Student how is a electron microscope different than a normal microscope?
Bugscope Team A scanning electron microscope uses electrons to image instead of photons like a light microscope. That's why it's in black and white. Another thing is this electron microscope is special because it can also be in a different mode than we are in now and be used to image wet things.
- Student Are the insects alive right now?
Bugscope Team We are looking at dead insects. None are alive. They have to be dead and dry to be used in the microscope while it is in high vacuum mode
- Student Are you going to School? If so which one?
Bugscope Team I am in a lab with the microscope that is on campus at the University of illinois
- 2:27pm
- Bugscope Team If an insect were alive and put into the microscope, as the microscope pumps to vacuum the insect would suffocate and it's insides would probably ooze out, which is pretty gross
- Student how big is the microscope
Bugscope Team the microscope sits by itself in it's own room and has two parts. The main part is as big as a fridge and the other part, which is the computer part, is as big as a large desk
- Student is that a dust mite
Bugscope Team Here is a mite sitting on an earwig. They are found most often on earwigs, I think because the earwig can't brush them off as easy. Dust mites are soft bodied and dont look as nice
- Bugscope Team All very good questions so far :)
- Bugscope Team if you didn't know, earwigs are those pincer bugs you find under rocks
- 2:32pm
- Student How big is a Mite?
Bugscope Team It's big enough to see under a light microscope, but definitely smaller than a millimeter
- Student how much can the microscope zoom
Bugscope Team we can resolve things as small as 2 nanometers
- Bugscope Team All that stuff there you see is dust or bug parts. This was in a box where there were some maggots and they were eating other insects so these are probably little bits
- Student why do dust mites live on other animals
Bugscope Team dust mites like to eat dander and human skin flakes
- Student is it sperical
- Student do mites live on humans???
Bugscope Team there are mites on our eyelashes and our foreheads
- Bugscope Team there was something here but it was blown away it looks like
- Bugscope Team sometimes things can fall off
- 2:37pm
- Student can the mites harm us?
Bugscope Team we dont think they do. We think there's a symbiotic relationship where they dont harm us or necessarily help us even
- Student WHAT ARE THOSE?
Bugscope Team the round bumpy thing is a compound eye with lots of little facets in them
- Bugscope Team the hole you see is where a palp broke off
- Bugscope Team the palp is something that can move or taste food
- Bugscope Team this hole here is a spherical, which is similar to our noses
- Bugscope Team it's connected to a long tube, or trachea, that runs throughout the entire body
- Student what are the function of the hairs?:)
Bugscope Team the hairs are connected to nerves underneath the exoskeleton, allowing the insect to feel things like we can with our skin
- Student do you know why bugs dont have noses
- Bugscope Team there are other functions for some hairs like here
- Student if u zoom in enough on a beetal could u see vains on there hard wings
Bugscope Team we can't see through things but the wings actually have external ridges for the veins like a leaf
- Bugscope Team these hairs, or tennent setae, allow insects to walk on walls
- 2:42pm
- Student Do you know why bugs don't have noses?
Bugscope Team they dont really need noses, they have antennae and palps that are used to "sniff" and spiracles (not sphericals sorry I just realized my mistake) to breathe
- Bugscope Team here are bitemarks
- Student were you ever interrested in arthropods before you got this job?
Bugscope Team not really, i really didn't don't like live insects. I guess that's why I'm great with bugscope because they're dead
- Student what are the bite marks from
Bugscope Team These insects were in a box that hatched some maggots and they got hungry
- 2:47pm
- Student where do you get the bugs from
Bugscope Team some schools send them in, we sometimes get insects from people who work here
- Bugscope Team here's a house centipede
- Bugscope Team they are creepy
- Student can the pinchers hurt you
Bugscope Team They do a little. It pinches, but there's no venom
- Student ?
- Bugscope Team Here's a weevil. They like seeds
- Student are these feet or antennies
Bugscope Team these are legs
- Teacher Oooh, that's an evil weevil!
- 2:53pm
- Student Where do most weevils live?
- Bugscope Team They live in food like flour or cereal or in trees or the ground
- Student do they have compound eyes or what because it looks like they hav more
Bugscope Team Spiders have simple eyes.
- Bugscope Team they don't see as well with simple eyes, usually light changes or movement
- Student What are simple eyes and how many do they have?
Bugscope Team Spiders have eight (like the number of legs) and it just means they don't have little facets (like all those bumps you saw on the fly)
- Student how bid is the lenseon the microspoe
Bugscope Team The microscope doesn't have lenses they have magnets to manipulate the electron beam. I've never seen them. They are in the column as big as a fridge
- Student Has there ever been a weevil packaged in a cereal box or in a package of flour?
Bugscope Team It can happen I think. But it probably happens after packaging. I'm not entirely sure
- Student how much does the microscope cost?
Bugscope Team It cost around $600,000 11 years ago
- 2:58pm
- Student how much dose it weigh
- Student thankyou:)
- Student goodie jobie!
- Student thank you for sharing your knoledge with us!
- Student I think you are my rule moder bye :)
- Student thank you i am impresssed by your superior skill in microsscopic scientific science good job! bye
- Student good by homs
- Student thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Student thank you your are awesomeo
- Student Thank you Good bye
- Student k
- Student Goodbyhe!!!!
- Student See u later
- Student thankyou for everything!!! you are the best bye!!
- Student amazing amazing goodbye
- Student thank you for talking with us you rock for that bi bi from savannah and taylor we rock too
- Student :)
- Student thanks
- Student see you later
- Student llll
- Bugscope Team You all were great
- Student ;)
