Transcript Bugscope - WordPress.com

Mandi Davis
Educ140
House Fly Initial Drawing
• In my initial drawing, done
without looking at any pictures
or photographs, there are a lot
of inaccuracies. Certain body
parts, like the wings and
abdomen are the wrong shape
or size. I was unsure where the
legs should sprout from or if
flies even have antennae.
However, the basic concepts
are present- three body
segments, wings, compound
eyes, and hair on the body.
House Fly Post-Lens Drawing
• After examining a house
fly under a hand lens and
a dissecting scope, I was
able to add more detail to
my drawing, increasing
the number of hairs on
the body, correcting the
wing shape and adding
more pronounces veins.
Using these technologies
sharpened what my eyes
could see.
The Common House Fly
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Scientific name: Musca domestica Linnaeus
The house fly is 6 to 7 mm long, although
females are usually larger than males. They
can be distinguished by the amount of space
between the eyes- in males, the eyes almost
touch. House flies are always found in
association with humans or activities of
humans . They originated in central Asia, but is
now found in all inhabited continents, in all
climates and in a variety of environments, rural
and urban.
House flies undergo a complete
metamorphosis with distinct egg, larva or
maggot, pupal and adult stages. Over a three
to four day period, each female fly can lay up to
500 eggs in batches of 75 to 150. Adults
usually live 15 to 25 days, but may live up to
two months. Without food, they survive only
about two to three days.
Scientists have calculated that a pair of flies
beginning reproduction in April may be
progenitors, under optiminal conditions and if
all were to live, of
191,010,000,000,000,000,000 flies by August.
Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me
• Despite being considered pesky,
flies can also transport diseasecausing organisms. When
excessive fly populations occur
where there are nearby human
habitations, a public health
problem could arise.
• Types of pathogens flies carry
include viruses, bacteria, fungi,
protozoa, and nematodes.
• Of particular concern is the
movement of flies from animal or
human feces to food that will be
eaten uncooked by humans.
Information found at:
•http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/flies/house_fly.HTM
•http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/fly/Houseflyprintout.shtml
•http://www.pestworld.org/For-Consumers/Pest-Guide/Pest/House-Flies
Bugscope House Fly
• Using the electron microscope
was incredible. Being able to
focus in so closely on specific
features like legs or eyes or
hair folicles gave us the
opportunity to see details too
miniscule for a normal
microscope to catch. It allowed
us to see just how complex the
makeup of a bug or insect is.
• This image shows a house fly
head and mouth parts.
NSES Standards
Science as Inquiry (K-12)
• Understanding of scientific concepts.
• An appreciation of "how we know" what we know in
science.
• Understanding of the nature of science.
• Skills necessary to become independent inquirers about the
natural world.
• The dispositions to use the skills, abilities, and attitudes
associated with science.
Using Bugscope touches on many of these subsets of Science as
Inquiry. Using ESMS technology helps students see “how we know”
what we know about insects and things too small for them to see. It
helps them pose questions about why certain bug features exist and
inquire about the natural world.
Technologies
• Using Bugscope was a very authentic use of
technology because we communicated with real
scientists, receiving immediate responses to
challenging questions, and because we were
able to personally manipulate the microscope,
choosing the subject matter and the focal point.
• It was also an authentic activity to compare the
abilities of dissecting scopes with those of the
ESMS technology. Students can see first hand
how magnification affects the image available.
Curriculum Connections
Bugscope can be connected to a variety of other curriculum topics:
The intense magnification used in the ESMS technology could help
students grasp the concept of molecules and particles or even be
used to discuss electrons and protons, things too tiny to see with our
eye, just like the bug features explored.
It could also connect to a health lesson, using the study of certain bugs,
like the house fly, to jump into a discussion on sanitary conditions
and pathogens.
Students could participate in a bug nature walk as well, using their
observation skills to find and record information about the creatures
in their area. They could then research a specific bug and present it
to the class.
Literature Connections
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NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY FIRST FIELD
GUIDE: INSECTS focuses on six-legged creatures
and spiders. It offers easy-to-read text and more
than 450 color photos and illustrations. Each
spread includes a large photo of a perfect insect
specimen, some fast facts about the featured
creature, a handful of comments about "what to
look for," and information about the insect's size,
habitat, and range.
THE BEST BOOK OF BUGS (Kingfisher, 1998)
covers all the bug basics. Students will travel to a
host of habitats as they discover the bugs around
them, above them, and beneath their feet.
Illustrations provide students with a bugs-eye
view of insect life near the pond, in an ant colony,
and inside a beehive.
JANICE VAN CLEAVE'S INSECTS AND SPIDERS is
a book of activities and experiments involving
bugs,from making bug catchers to using paper
tubes and straws to model grasshopper eyes.