An entomological institute in Germany is sharing more of its rare collection of insects with Taiwanese institutes. The collection includes thousands of insect samples gathered in Taiwan about 100 years ago and is known as the “Formosa Collection.”
The collection belonged to the late German entomologist Hans Sauter, who spent several years in Taiwan collecting samples of butterfly species during the Japanese colonial period. He later donated his collection to the Senckenberg Deutsches Entomologisches Institut for preservation and further research.
Containing 6,000 to 7,000 samples, it may be the most comprehensive collection of Taiwan’s insects.
Many of the species collected by Sauter are now extinct in Taiwan, said Stephan Blank, a specialist at the institute.
Through exchange programs between the institute and Taiwanese academic institutions, some of the samples of extinct species are now on display in their country of origin.
For example, when the National Museum of Natural Science in Greater Taichung was planning the exhibition “Formosa Butterflies” last year, the curator asked the German institute to loan them some samples of extinct species.
The institute presented a pair of purple-blue Euploea phaenarete juvia and a pair of golden-colored Danaus plexippus as a gift, together with 374 insect samples from the “Formosa Collection,” Blank said.
Blank said he was impressed to see Taiwan’s biodiversity for himself when he visited earlier this year. In addition to discussing cooperation projects with the natural science museum and other academic institutions, he traveled to the mountains and the northeastern coast.
“In terms of a zoogeographical region, Taiwan is included in the ‘oriental’ area, but species found in the high mountains are mainly Palearctic species, which have remained there from the glacial time,” Blank said.
However, Taiwan’s butterflies, like much of its other wildlife, have faced pressure from the country’s focus on economic development.
Every year, in parts of the country where purple milkweed butterflies pass through on their annual migration, some highway lanes or roads are closed to reduce the number of butterflies killed by vehicles. However, such efforts are not enough, as thousands of the butterflies are still killed before they can reach their breeding ground.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS