Wasp inside an Electron Microscope

[@CaptainCandycorn]

I really like how you show yourself moving around the microscope before showing the actual high quality image. It's neat.

[@BreakingTaps]

Thanks for the feedback! Will keep trying to do that, wasn't sure if that was interesting to folks or irritating!

[@lumotroph]

Agreed. Very nice to watch. How much was this scope, out of interest? I’d love one.

[@legoworks-cg5hk]

@@BreakingTaps anyone who thinks it’s irritating needs to touch some grass

[@bakedbeings]

It reminds me of the visual storytelling in tv show intros and music videos: I enjoyed feeling a small sense of your experience exploring, identifying, zooming.

[@Resonantfate]

I think it helped contribute to a spacial understanding of where on the subject you were about to zoom in. It's also satisfying watching an image get clearer with added detail.

[@AJGoff110]

4:57 That type of magenta/teal sheen is caused by Thin Film Interference, so it makes sense that it is very smooth. Destructive interference between light reflecting off of the top and the bottom of the wing filter out certain colors and brighten others, depending on the viewing angle. It seems like it's mostly red light being filtered out to make it look teal, and green light being filtered out to make it look magenta.

[@scoon2117]

The shear complexity required for anything to live is amazing.

[@joshgilligan5466]

Really cool, I love this series of yours, I study some aspects of a parasitic wasp called Nasonia vitripennis. There is however a type of wasp that can be smaller than some bacteria, they're called fairyflies (Mymaridae) at their scale of life they have paddle like structures instead of wings Getting a hold of these things is extremely difficult though

[@turun_ambartanen]

343 BC came before 322 BC, so it is entirely possible Aristoteles wrote the book at that time. The numbers run annoyingly backwards for times BC. Also that ovipositor note XD

[@BreakingTaps]

Argh, totally forgot about that with BC dates 🤦‍♂️ Also yeaahhhh, had some accidentally interesting google image searches 😂

[@bertholtappels1081]

I’m an engineer with no interest in biology. Or so I thought. Why did I watch this, in awe, with my jaw on the floor?

[@tonn333]

Because God is awesome.

[@saml7610]

I was the same way, engineering major for my first 2 years. I went into a chemical ecology class in year three, and learned that the natural world is awesome. I still do loads of engineering work. I'm a farmer now, but I do biochemical ecology research in concert with my local university, while I use my engineering chops to work on automating tasks on the farm with prototype home built robots. That is to say, they are not mutually exclusive. An interest in biology is actually the sign of a great engineer, if you ask me. For engineers, nature is the greatest source of new ideas you could ever wish for. Evolution has done a great job refining certain mechanisms, and we absolutely shouldn't ignore the conclusions of that process.

[@tonn333]

@@saml7610 so if evolution refines, who created?

[@saml7610]

@@tonn333 Presumably God, right? If I were the Lord, I wouldn't create each creature individually. No, I would build a system that allows them to arise organically. I'd get everything started, and then let it run. That's how I think of it. I see no reason why science and religion must oppose one another. Of course, I respect that others may feel differently, that's just how I have rationalized it, personally.

[@genericalfishtycoon3853]

Well, insects are built like little machines themselves so it would be more surprising if you didn't find this interesting!

[@HuygensOptics]

Wow Zach, what a great flow and such beautiful images in this video. The sentence with "Eventuall it will burst open" sounded as if a new sequel of "Alien" movie series is added in you own back yard on a daily basis...

[@BreakingTaps]

😂 Thanks!

[@secretnetizen]

This channel is definitely a gold mine.

[@BoschPianoMusic]

Fascinating and I just realized if I owned an electron microscope I would also try everything I could find in my house.

[@DwarvesAndDice]

I really enjoyed this video, nice one!

[@st3althyone]

I can't believe what you're able to image with your SEM! It's incredible seeing all these beautiful features pop out, especially in those false color images. It's genuinely extraordinary seeing all that detail

[@ddegn]

That sure looks sinister. It looks like an designer went overboard designing a science fiction villain. It looked really cool. Thanks for sharing this video. I thought it was great.

[@BreakingTaps]

So. Many. Spikes.

[@uncletrash8770]

Ok, where was your channel my whole life? I love ESM images, that's so cool! Make more!

[@euchiron]

The details are gorgeous

[@doxielain2231]

I love micrographia. I spent a long time in grad school staring at hymenoptera under dissecting microscopes.

[@bakedbeings]

I'm boggled by the implied tiny scale of cells that make up the creature's visible structures. Then boggled again to think that, even if there are millions of them in the antennae closeups, they're still likely larger than the transistors in the phone I watched this on.

[@seankelley1878]

Correction to the correction at 1:03 : 343 BC is before 322 BC, so the turn of events should be sound :)

[@alexmagnuson2028]

Although you’ve only made a few videos, this series is one of my favorite of your channel

[@BreakingTaps]

Thanks, appreciate the feedback! Still needs a bit of tweaking/polishing, but I think it'll be a great series once I nail it down :)

[@robertszempruch6540]

Anyone know what that brain-like structure is at 6:05? It amazing how foreign everything looks so close. It's interesting how difficult it seems to correlate the SEM images and my visual experience in my mind. You just never see any of this under normal circumstances. Great work!

[@RiffZifnab]

No clue, my thought was some kind of radiator for maximizing surface area. It could also be an artifact from the creation of the SEM image. They talk about this around kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXSseIZofb2Shrs

[@robertszempruch6540]

@@RiffZifnab thanks! I'm now beginning a rabbit hole journey

[@CeeJMantis]

Wish I had more information available for you, but without knowing what part of the insect he's taking a picture of, it could be lots of things. Might not even be a part of the wasp itself, and instead something attached to it.

[@BreakingTaps]

I went through the image archive and found a zoomed-out version of that structure. It's in the "elbow" / crease of a leg joint, although I'm afraid I don't know which leg. No idea what it is but looks neat! Maybe this extra context will help someone identify it. Image here: www.dropbox.com/s/e1q13f0xlm08psd/fly_leg.PNG?dl=0

[@CeeJMantis]

@@BreakingTaps Thanks for the image! I'm not exactly an insect expert, but I do have some guesses. The entirety of the insects exterior is all a part of it's exoskeleton, and is basically one piece. Those creases might allow for the exoskeleton to stretch and bend at those points as an alternative to the ball-and-socket joints. It might also be an artifact from when the exoskeleton was softer, and that area might have stretched out more before contracting as it dries. I believe most insects also use fluid pressure to extend their legs, and have muscles that act like springs that help them retract, so maybe that bit of surface is designed to inflate as part of that process. (As a side note, this is also why the legs of dead insects tend to curl up as they no longer have any blood pressure to keep them extended) When it comes to the anatomy of arthropods, every one of those highly detailed structures from the various hairs and joints, to the eyes and mouth parts are just specialized adaptations to a mostly contiguous surface. Imagining the idea of shedding one's skin all at once is already fascinating, but for arthropods, they also have to shed all of those hairs and even their eyes, which means growing another layer of those things underneath the existing one. Those are just some of my thoughts.

[@deadtoad990]

These micrographia videos are great, please make more.

[@RoNiminal]

Wow! This was so interesting! Excellent choice of background music, too. I'm your newest subscriber, and I'm honored to be here. Off to another video on your channel!

[@ethernet0]

Amazing images! Also really thankful you placed sources in the description.

[@brunovincent1969]

So interesting, love the fact you didn't kill it and waited for it to die 👍!

[@paranoiia8]

I just love those drill-like hairs.

[@ashpowell9451]

I love this series, thanks so much for making!

[@myxfit]

I keep a number of species of springtail, and would absolutely love to be able to get this kind of imagery of them!

[@markedis5902]

On your 486 video you said you wanted to see transistors. Suggest you try a eprom

[@BreakingTaps]

Ooh that's a good idea! I've gotten better at lapping and cross-sectioning since that video too, so maybe we'd have a chance of seeing one!

[@CATASTEROID934]

2:01 There are some species which are specific to another parasitoid wasp species which are also specific to another parasitoid wasp, and there are multiple cases of three-tier parasitoid specifism too it's wild, and each is locked into an ancient battle; a still ongoing arms race of coevolution with it's host. The hidden limiter of larval populations for many species, unseen and unthanked guardians of crops and gardens. I first found an Ichneumonid entangled in my wife's hair, sat on my thumb it gently cleaned it's legs while brushing me with it's hair-like and very tickly antennae long enough for me to study it, my rapturous stupor was broken by my wife finally noticing what I was studying and recoiling from it which spooked it but I got a cool picture so I didn't grumble too much. A larger species once flew into my bedroom and spent half an hour very quickly orbiting the light bulb and unintentionally terrorising my wife again, since then I've never managed to find another but I probably don't hang out where the wasps do.

[@Dbean48]

Could you do the same for at least four different types of bees in comparison.. You are very good at descriptions of the parts of the insects..Enjoyed this clip very much.

[@BreakingTaps]

I like that idea, adding to the todo list! Thanks!

[@leesass3602]

Ovipositor is five syllables, Like this O-vi-pos-i-tor. Thanks for your videos I really enjoy them

[@Obsidian0Knight]

Still looking forward the pb and j video, but this was awesome nonetheless! Thanks for sharing this!

[@toanthai]

These are amazing images! I documented another smaller parasitic wasp which laid egg inside an aphid for my channel. I waited a few days and photographed a full grown wasp emerging from a mummified aphid. It was quite fascinating.

[@RichardLaurence]

Exquisite pictures!

[@flioink]

My dude casually whipped out a scanning electron microscope😅 I would love to have one too someday, but for now they cost as much a s a house.

[@DanielNascimento-tu1fi]

Bro, you content quality is unreal

[@tokiWren]

It's really interesting to compare the wasp and the fly from a design perspective. The fly's features are generally much more rounded, whereas the wasp has more sharp, triangular edges. Your remark about the "evilness" of its appearance aligns well with the theory of Shape Language, where circles represent harmlessness and friendliness (so a design with more roundness will appear friendlier), and triangles represent danger or aggressiveness. There are differing theories on why shape language works psychologically, but a popular one is that sharper features are more effective for a predator in the environment, and so humans instinctively intuit that they are dangerous. i just like bugs :3

[@nicklanders5178]

I think the iridescence of the wings is due to thin film interference, like you get with a layer of oil on water or bubbles

[@onesimpleclik]

These images are so alien-like. Fascinating stuff!

[@ddegn]

If it were a science fiction alien, I would have thought the designer when way overboard. It sure looked amazing.

[@rendermanpro]

Wasp that can drill a hole in the hard wood, such an amazing creation of a nature, regarding that possibility...

[@iemozzomei]

Always fascinating to see how nature does things, it's one of those things that sits at the back of your mind just waiting for really niche applications!

[@mortlet5180]

Not related to biology at all, but I'd love to see you do an episode on polymers and perhaps even polymerisation. Specifically, I've never seen any good micrographs of how polymer coatings work and why some are porous to certain molecules while others can be (mostly) air-tight, even when applied as pre-polymerised, micron-sized pieces in a carrier solvent. As for the polymerisation process itself, I don't know how practically viable this would be, but I thought it might be really cool to take multiple images while controlling the degree of polymerisation by incrementally 'exposing' the coating with something like a laser/LED, or even just using the E-beam itself, right before each image is taken.

[@BreakingTaps]

Interesting idea, I'll look into it! partially polymerized might be tough, I suspect the vacuum will suck out whatever solvent is in the polymer and might alter the shape considerably. Worth a shot though! More generally, different polymers could be very neat. I know that some co-polymers like ABS have really interesting patterns under AFM (different "springiness" to each of the co-polymer components shows up differently on AFM). I'll add them to the todo list!

[@fratink]

Just a note on time, 322BC is after 343BC (count backwards with BC/BCE, forwards with AD/CE), so he could have written his book in 343BC and then died in 322BC.

[@ThermalWorld_]

Stunning images 😍 Please put more insects on the electron microscope 😍 And please upload the false color and normal color images on cloud or Flicker, I like to download them 😊

[@weekenddistractions]

Awesome images and information!

[@adfaklsdjf]

I think 343 BC was before 322 BC.. because the numbers go backwards in BC because calendars are stupid.

[@BreakingTaps]

Argh! 🤦‍♂️ I even thought about it and was like "yeah this is correct, send it!". Oops 😂

[@adfaklsdjf]

@@BreakingTaps ain't nobody perfect ☺

[@justRD1]

Poor little hover flys. All they want to do is hang out, check out what we are doing, and lick our arm.

[@Dbean48]

I have always been in awe of nature and bees and different types of insects which all related to gardening.. This is the first time I have ever seen so closeup pictures where you could see the various structures of the wasp..It is as startling to the degree at which it is constructed for its parasitic pursuits of other insects.. mini flying defence clapper layers of armour ..you are correct the antenna array for sensing the air sample’s is very robust as well for size.. and yet lite enough to be able to fly..amazing miniature creation..and its ability to reproduce..taking out beneficial insects..what is its adversaries besides man?

[@j1952d]

Suggestion for wing colouration: interference between light reflecting from the upper and lower surfaces of the wing membrane.

[@BreakingTaps]

Ooh, yeah that seems likely! Didn't think about how thin it was and if that would cause the thin film interference!

[@georgiogreco8658]

You got a desktop SEM at home? Maaan, thats my dream instrument! I dont have $100k though,so,Im just gonna watch you!

[@Barely_Creative]

Correction to the correction (1:05): 343 BC is before 322 BC

[@64Pete]

Why don't you have millions of views? It's a travesty I tell you, a travesty. Keep up the good work brother, awesome lesson.

[@sleepib]

The iridescence probably comes from thin film interference, with the different colors coming from thickness variation in the wing.

[@andymouse]

Love this stuff !...cheers.

[@notsonominal]

These are so cool! Thanks for sharing:))

[@castleanthrax1833]

I wouldn't concern yourself too much by the presence of this parasitic wasp. Given the usually healthy balance in nature, its presence (I would think) is a likely indicator of a healthy hoverfly population.

[@visualchallenge2413]

A suggestion : when I use the hot glue gun I am usually annoyed by the remaining filament that stretch a lot instead of being cut. I wonder how thin it can be when stretched. Perhaps it stretches to sub-micron diameter ?

[@andymouse]

I believe some scientists have used the antenna as detectors in the past, might have been some sci-fi I've seen...cheers.

[@tilly8297]

Really like your channel... Recently subbed... Btw, Aristotle very well could have written his work in 343 B.C., a full 21 years before he died in 322 B.C.

[@rendermanpro]

How much cost that amazing electronic microscope? Fantastic quality

[@_f_]

Seldomly unintentional things are interesting

[@tire_reviews]

Such a great series ❤️

[@TheRealJerseyJoe]

Superb !

[@VoidHalo]

What you mentioned about smelling in stereo got me wondering about why humans lack this ability. We have stereo hearing, and stereo vision, and two nostrils. It seems like we have everything necessary for stereo smell except the sensitivity. Otherwise, it seems we could detect the direction of smells the same way as a snake or insect with 2 olfactory organs. It makes me wonder if cats or dogs can smell in stereo. I'll have to see if I can find any such study on stereo smell in mammals. I feel like I read about this a very long time ago. Maybe 10+ years ago.

[@adamday-williams7059]

Those images are beautiful, how do you colour them?

[@JonahHW]

Little correction to your correction around the one minute mark: 343 BCE is before 322 BCE (because BCE is backwards)

[@brandonb6164]

fascinating and unexpected video. very cool

[@claricestarling4964]

I searched ovipositor!!!! 😱 Why didn’t I listen to you?!?

[@andyspoo2]

I've seen colored electron microscope images of insects sold as art. You might want to consider that to help fund your channel.

[@RiffZifnab]

This was great, thank you. (:

[@nigelsmith7366]

Very cool bro

[@driesketels805]

Thank you! Amazing!❤

[@n49o7]

I also studied parasitoid wasps for my Master's thesis.

[@BreakingTaps]

Hope I didn't get too many facts wrong! That's a neat thesis topic, I found these fascinating once I started to read about them!

[@n49o7]

@@BreakingTaps It's a deep rabbit hole for sure. Outstanding channel, keep it up!

[@rusalkin]

can you do plant roots? funghi and bacteria accumulation / symbiosis ?

[@ThoughtCrimeCriminal]

The hoover fly lays its eggs in bees egg nest and its larvae feed on the bee larvae... ah the irony

[@themardybum08]

More microprocessors please!

[@BreakingTaps]

Working on an accelerometer right now! And I found a stash of old Xeons I want to decap and check out, so definitely more microprocessor and MEMs stuff on the way!

[@themardybum08]

@@BreakingTaps Great news. I've had the manufacturing process explained to me before but still find it a mystery how humans can manufacture on such a microscopic scale. That intel chip you posted was from the 80's too!

[@cyril.engineering]

Is the pilot to address Lantern Flies finally in effect? They were researching safe breeds of parasitic wasp to release.

[@BreakingTaps]

Not sure to be honest, first time I've heard of that! Sounds interesting, will do some reading. Hope it doesn't turn into another cane toad situation!

[@FredPilcher]

Fascinating! I thought you had to coat subjects with metal, but clearly not. 🙂

[@BreakingTaps]

For best results you generally do, but my machine has a "high pressure" mode which you can use for uncoated samples. The extra air molecules in the chamber help dissipate charge which alleviates the need for coating. The image quality isn't quite as good, but it's a lot easier/faster 🙂

[@legoworks-cg5hk]

Do you think you could see a bacterium on a flys foot?

[@BreakingTaps]

Definitely possible if the cards align! The machine has the resolution to resolve them, so it'd be mostly up to the preparation (making sure bacteria was fixed in place and not washed away) and then looking in the right location.

[@legoworks-cg5hk]

@@BreakingTaps I wonder if you could take pictures from different angles and make a 3d model using reality capture (I think you have to focus stack first)

[@michaelarbach]

I want you to dig deep into Beatle wings.. (the Beatles that technically should not be able to fly, but can(. I want to know what's so special about them. Many people say they have very strange propulsion

[@jonatan01i]

Oh my god you're perfect!

[@ernestgary6812]

More.... MORE LIKE THIS! 😅

[@liquighost7988]

"be careful googling said term" .... i'd suggest next time "DO NOT GOOGLE THIS" .... people are absolutely putrid

[@Tattlebot]

I think the parasitoid wasp is far more disturbing than fantasy sex toys. Even Darwin loathed Ichneumonidae. Elastomer toys barely register. Must be an American thing.

[@pcka12]

This is a 'scanning electron microscope' rather than the 'transmission' type?

[@rickypoindexter9505]

Would you perhaps consider giving calcium carbonate a look? Naturally obtained calcium carbonate to be specific - I was always told as a kid that toothpaste had calcium carbonate in it. Which was basically tiny sea shells from back during the dinosaur period. Curious if you got some natural calcium carbonate if you might be able to see the shells of diatoms in it.

[@BreakingTaps]

Huh, that's nifty! Will add it to the list! I have a bag of diatomaceous earth which looks _super_ cool (although also kinda sad, like a graveyard of crushed up diatoms). Would be cool to see if natural calcium carbonate has any resemblance!

[@meinbenutzerkonto]

6:04 Looks Like brain

[@nomore-constipation]

2:04 Is there another tiny insect crawling on this insect? I swear I see movement! At the top left general area

[@alexharvey9721]

Beautiful

[@JustMakinProgress]

nice nice nice nice.

[@andreass.7152]

Instant Abonnement

[@HarryNicNicholas]

it seems to me that everything is hairy, the universe is fine tuned for hair. talking of stereo smell, i believe there is a bat that converts sonar into images? which brings me to my pet subject, objects and light have no intrinsic colour, the whole universe looks like an electron microscope, colour is imagined in the brain, same with smell and taste, and the weird thing - sound doesn't exist anywhere, not even in your head (try cutting your head open, you won't hear anything, well, a friend's head) the "noise" is entirely simulated. (i was joking about cutting head's open by the way, never do that, not even with permission).

[@caelan5301]

Be careful googling ovipositor? Yea.... Just don't click on the images. Turns out some people are into that.

[@executive]

oviposItor, with an 'i', and "pedicel" with an 's' sound as with any latin name

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

A straight woman that likes to hang out with gay men is called a fruit fly. It's not an insult. I'm more of a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant but don't look too closely. I too love microscopes. Just today in the cafeteria at work we were discussing Botflies and parasitic spiders.

[@aaronarellano7395]

I love parasitic wasps! This is the best video ever. Liked and subbed instantly ❤

[@theonecommenter]

2:27 omg lmao, don’t Google it 💀💀

[@BreakingTaps]

I told youuuuuuu! 😂

[@theonecommenter]

@@BreakingTaps I Google things I’m told not to Google Also awesome channel, saw the first video and instantly subbed

[@AdlersAesthetics]

Moar

[@lostwheat5806]

🪬

[@fahads1398]

Glory be to God Almighty... God Almighty's creation ☝️

[@MeltedMask]

Humans and other mammals have stereo smelling. We have two nostrils that samples air more from left and right than from front. And this air is separated whole length of nasal cavity. Ofcourse humans are poor sniffers and if you have stuffy nose you don't have any stereo.

[@HuFlungDung2]

I think it's simplistic to assume smell is stereoscopic just because it is split. I think it's a redundant backup in case of injury or perhaps it feeds into separate processing centers in the brain for different purposes, like is this dangerous or is this food.

[@oiltoast3723]

@Murray McEwan wouldn't a backup be more simplistic than stero smell?

[@ddegn]

Can you tell the direction of the source of a smell without moving your head? The same thought about stereo smell occurred to me but I don't think my nose is very directional. I'm off to search the internet.

[@ddegn]

I'm back from the internet. It turns out @MeltedMask is correct. We do smell in stereo. A study at the University of California, Berkeley showed people had a much harder time following a scent trail when using one nostril rather than both. I'm not sure if the study really proves we "smell in stereo" but it sure suggests the two nostrils aren't just a redundant backup for our sense of smell.

[@HuFlungDung2]

@@ddegn I'd argue that the nostrils are too close together to detect direction. Think about it: vision and hearing depend on waves that propagate in a deterministic manner, real physics is involved. Smell does not occur in this manner and cannot be tracked this way. We use our eyes in combination with our nose, as well as extensive swivelling of the head to try to determine the origin of a smell. One nostril being plugged decreases the overall ability to detect odors at all, so of course it would be more difficult to trace a smell with one nostril plugged by way of the fact that it becomes more difficult to detect a rise and a fall in the amount of odor, not its directionality.

[@xploration1437]

Meow