Current status and future of applied entomology in Taiwan

서지정보

ㆍ발행기관 : 한국응용곤충학회 ㆍ수록지정보 : 한국응용곤충학회 학술대회논문집
ㆍ저자명 : Kuang-Hui Lu

영어 초록

Taiwan is an island located in the south-east of China (20°30"N, 121°00"E), and the Tropic of Cancer runs through the middle of the island. Total area of Taiwan is about 36,000 sq. km with 394 km long and 144 km wide at its broadest point. The mountain ranges occupy almost half of the island, more than 200 peaks elevate over 3000 m, and the tallest peak is Yu-Shan (Jade Mountain) with 3952 m. In general, Taiwan has a marine climate and varies widely by season in the Northern part and the mountain areas however, in the South, it belongs to the tropical belt and is warm and humid all year. These diverse climate patterns create the extreme diversity of insects in Taiwan, of course including all kinds of insect pests. Here, I try to make a brief introduction to how we study and control in insect pests in Taiwan.

Entomological research related government organizations
Mainly, two government departments, i.e., the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), are in charge of insect pest-relatedstudy and control in Taiwan. Both are the major providers of research funding to support study on all aspects of applied entomology; however, the former is responsible for control of animal and plant diseases and pests and plant health inspection and quarantine (agriculture entomology); however, the latter is responsible for prevention, control, survey and research of various communicable diseases that are mostly related with the public health (medical entomology).Besides, the National Science Council (NSC) provides funding mainly for basic research.

Entomology study in Universities and Research institutes
There are only two “Department of Entomology” in Taiwan, one is at the National Taiwan University, and the other is at the National Chung University. In addition, there are two plant protection related departments as well, i.e., “Department of Plant Medical Science, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology” in Pingtung County and “Department of Biological Resources, National Chiayi University” in Chiayi County. Besides teaching, all aspects of entomology-related research projects are held as well. Additionally, there are many entomologists scattered in different university, especially in medical schools for medical entomological research.
Under the Council of Agriculture (COA), there are several agriculture research institutes are responsible for agriculture research including insect pest control (applied entomology), such as (1) Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) and its experimental branches: the key agricultural research institute in Taiwan, (2) Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substance Research Institute (TACTRI): the institute is responsible for developing pesticides and plant protection technologies, monitoring pesticide residues and toxic substances in agricultural products, providing technical services, and establishing evaluation methods and guidelines to control pesticides, and (3) seven “District Agricultural Research and Extension Stations” located in Taoyuan, Miaoli, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Hualien and Taitung Districts, respectively. These Stations are responsible for the research and extension works which are according to the regional difference, as well as (4) Endemic Species Research Institute and (5) Taiwan Forestry Research Institute.

Current status and future of applied entomology in Taiwan
All aspects of the entomological research are going in Taiwan, and there is no way to clearly introduce all of them; therefore, only main directions are highlighted as the following:
(1) In agriculture
a. Key targeted species- oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)), melon fly (B. cucurbitae Coquillett), common cutworm (Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)), and……..etc.
b. Control methods
i. Chemical control- it still is the key method currently.
ii. Nonchemical control- attractants (pheromones), natural enemy, microbial control,……..etc.
c. Insect vectors on transmission of plant diseases.
d. New technique- use of wireless sensor network (WSN) technology to monitor the insect population.
(2) In public health- medical insects
a. Key targeted species- Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, and…..etc.
b. Important issues
i. Insect-borne diseases- e.g. Dengue fever
ii. Zoonotic diseases- e.g. Japanese encephalitis
iii. Nuisance insects- e.g. biting midge (Forcipomyia taiwana)
c. Control methods: similar to (1) b.
(3) Prevention, invasion and control of exotic insect pests
a. Plant quarantine inspection- application of molecular biotechnology, such as PCR and microarray, to detection and identification insect species.
b. Invasion and control of the imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, and the erythrina gall wasp, Quadrastichus erythrinae.
(4) Insect biodiversity and conservation
a. Conservation species of insects in Taiwan
b. Firefly restoration
(5) Application of biotechnology on insects
a. Use of insect as bioreactors to produce useful proteins.
b. Use of transgenic insect to control insect pests.

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