Kyudai News No27 page 27/28

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Kyudai News No27

While more than a million insectspecies are known to humankind,there are actually thought to be severaltimes that number in existence today.In fact, the majority of livingorganisms on our planet are insects.Kyushu University is at the heart ofthe study of insects in Japan and hasproduced numerous entomologists todate. The research that takes placehere is mainly in the field oftaxonomy; put simply, our researchfocuses on finding out what differenttypes of insects exist on Earth andidentifying any new species. In thisresearch process, we haveaccumulated a huge collection ofinsect specimens. In our collection ofapproximately 7 million items ofresearch material, around 4 millionare insect specimens.These specimens are extremelyvaluable in academic terms, but theyare mainly small flies, beetles, andother unspectacular insects, so theyare not ideal specimens for showingpeople the wonderful diversity of theinsect world. However, in 2009, FatherKunio Karasuyama, a Catholic priestfrom Nagasaki, donated to ourmuseum his personal collection oflarge, beautiful insects from aroundthe world. This collection of 700 boxesof specimens entirely new to thisuniversity mainly consists ofbutterflies, stag beetles, andrhinoceros beetles.Since their donation, the Karasuyamaspecimens have been utilized as afirst-class resource that is essential toour insect exhibits. With their beautyand the abundance of differentspecies, they undoubtedly providethose who view them with an insightinto the magnificence of the insectworld.- Munetoshi Maruyama, AssistantProfessorMUSEUMREPORTThe Kyushu University MuseumTheEKyushuEUniversityEMuseum6-10-1 Hakozaki, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-8581Tel：092-642-4252Web：http://www.museum.kyushu-u.ac.jp/english/index.htmlHours & AdmissionOpen: Monday through Friday 10:00 - 5:00PMClosed: Major holidays Admission: FREECollections & ExhibitionsThe collections cover various fields: specimens of insects,plants, fossils, mammals, fishes, minerals, human bones andnatural medicines as well as valuable archives. Representativesof the collections are displayed at the main gallery in theHakozaki campus. Once a year, an extramural exhibition isorganized at a regional museum in Fukuoka.Kunio Karasuyama Insect Collection atKyushu University Museum26