A collection of preserved insects donated by Japanese academics to National Chung Hsing University has greatly enriched its collection and would boost research, the university said yesterday.
The collection, which was donated by Kokichi Hatta, Yasuo Takasaki and Nobuhiro Yoshida, has 27,000 specimens, the university said.
It arrived in the middle of last month, and includes dragonflies and butterflies from Japan, Indonesia, Burma and Peru, the university said.
Photo copied by Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
It includes a renowned Japanese dragonfly that was caught in 1932, the university said.
In 2009 and 2011, Hatta made two donations to the university that added 15,000 specimens to its collection, as well as books and equipment, it said.
This year’s delivery is Hatta’s third donation to the university, and the first by Takasaki and Yoshida, it said.
Hatta, 78, is dedicated to aquatic insects research and environmental monitoring, and has collaborated with National Chung Hsing University for the past decade, it said.
Hatta’s donation numbers more than 20,000 specimens, comprised mostly of Japan-endemic butterflies, moths, beetles, praying mantises, dragonflies and insects from the Pentatomidae family, the university said.
Takasaki, 87, a member of the investigation center for Aichi Prefecture’s Red List on Insects, sent 191 Japan-endemic dragonflies, as well as 102 molted shells of nymphal-stage dragonflies, it said.
Yoshida donated his collection of Japanese, Indonesian, Burmese and Peruvian butterflies and dragonflies, the university said.
However, it was sad to learn that Yoshida passed away aged 82 before the collection reached Taiwan, the univeristy said.
Yang Man-miao (楊曼妙), a professor in the university’s Department of Entomology, said that its specimen center features collections from its professors and students, including insects from the Hemiptera and Coleoptera orders.
Recent donations from domestic and foreign sources have greatly enriched the collection, Yang said, thanking the three Japanese academics for their trust and support.
Dragonflies had been a minority collection prior to Hatta’s donation, as well as donations by Lien Jih-ching (連日清), she said, adding that the center now has a unique and diverse dragonfly collection.
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