A Taichung university student has gained the attention of the international scientific community after he discovered six previously unknown species of rove beetle.
Hu Fang-shuo (胡芳碩), who is a third-year student at National Chung Hsing University’s Department of Entomology, made his first big discovery two years ago while helping the National Museum of Natural Science organize its collection of insect samples.
Hu discovered a 20-year-old sample that was left unnamed. He took it to Denmark, where he met with a renowned entomologist and learned that the species was unknown to scientists.
Hu has since discovered five more species and published 10 papers on his findings.
Hu, who said he has had a passion for collecting and studying insects since he was a child, formed an entomology enthusiasts club with students from National Chung Hsing University and National Taiwan University while he was still in high school.
He and other members of the club went on to create the Taiwanese Journal of Entomological Studies, of which Hu is now the chief editor.
One of the reasons that Taiwan has so many unknown insect species is the relatively low interest in entomology in the nation, Hu said.
There are more species of rove beetles than there are of any other living creature on Earth, he said, adding that of the 67,000 species of the insect worldwide, 1,200 can be found in Taiwan.
“The one thing that the general public knows about rove beetles is that they are poisonous,” he said.
Some rove beetles contain a strong vesicant in their bodies that can cause severe skin irritation, he said.
Hu has also been working with a group of entomologists in the Czech Republic studying the swimming behavior of the Hydrophilus — a genus of water scavenger beetle.
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