Doctor "bug fan" discovers 13 new species of giant mosquitoes

283 insect specimens were made in two months; 13 new species of mosquitoes were discovered in two years; in order to find insects, they traveled all over the southern five provinces; wherever they went to play, they carried insect catching nets with them. He was Dr. Men Qiulei, the "insect expert" of the Zoology Teaching and Research Office of the School of Life Sciences of Anqing Normal University.

He loves to make specimens. He led students to collect more than 400 butterflies on campus for one year. After careful selection, he made large-scale specimen works of "Longshan Butterfly Language" with 42 kinds of 200 butterflies, and won the first prize of animal group of 2016 Anhui Province College Students Biological Specimen Making Competition.

"I like to collect insects alone in the mountains. I enjoy the process of catching insects. It feels like a treasure hunt." In 2016, in order to collect insects, he went to nature reserves in Jiangxi, Hubei, Sichuan, Guangxi and Guizhou provinces. Collecting insects in the southern mountainous areas, the mountains are dark and humid, often encounter leeches, many times four or five at the same time adsorbed on the legs. "Every time leeches absorb enough blood, they will feel pain after falling. Almost every time I go out to collect, I can encounter leeches, so I can't remember how many times I have been bitten by leeches."

More than two years after working in Anqing Normal University, Menqiulei has discovered 13 new species of mosquitoes. His papers have been published in many foreign scientific journals."Insect groups are huge and there are many kinds. New species are not difficult to find. At the beginning, under the suggestion of his tutor, he chose to study mosquitoes. Because there are few researchers and weak foundation, the research space is still very large."

Men Qiulei pointed to the specimen of "Pseudo-black mosquito" hanging on the wall, which he and his students found in Yaoluoping National Nature Reserve in Yuexi, Anqing. In order to do research on mosquitoes, he often goes to damp and dark areas suitable for mosquito survival, where it is easier to find mosquitoes, catch them with insect nets during the day, and trap them with trap lamps at night."Some mosquitoes like to gather at the light at night, which is easier to collect than species that don't like light, so there are more studies. Those species that can only be collected during the day are more difficult to collect and are often hard to find, so it is easier to find new species."

Each time a different mosquito is caught, it must first be made into a specimen. The preparation of mosquito specimens is very difficult, because the legs of mosquitoes are very slender, a little attention will be broken, affecting the integrity of the specimen. Men Qiulei was careful every time he made a specimen. After the preparation of the specimen, it enters the identification link. Through consulting relevant data, it compares the characteristics with the mosquitoes of the same genus, classifies the commonness and classifies the individuality. "This is more time-consuming because it's very detailed. If the genus has few species, identification can be done in a few days, but some genera have more than 1000 species, and it takes months to compare." Menqiulei's longest comparison lasted three months.

After the appraisal work is completed, Menqiulei still needs scientific mapping. Put the insect under a dissecting mirror and draw every key feature of the insect with a needle pen on sulfuric acid paper. Even every bristle on the body needs to be pointed out one by one. Once the drawings are complete, they are used as illustrations, placed in articles, selected for journal submission, and finally checked by experts to determine whether the new species can be established. Anhui Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Research and Ecological Protection in Southwest Anhui Province approved in 2015 has complete molecular experimental equipment, which provides convenience for Menqiulei to carry out mosquito classification research and species identification. In publishing new species of mosquitoes, in addition to morphological characteristics, Menqiulei also added DNA data to the article, providing more reliable evidence for the establishment of new species.

Menqiulei introduced that more than 15,000 species of mosquitoes have been reported all over the world, while only 900 species have been recorded in China. As a country straddling Palaearctic and Oriental fauna, China has a high species diversity, with more than 900 species still far behind the actual distribution of mosquitoes in China. Therefore, there is still a lot of basic work to be done in the classification of mosquitoes in China.

For the preparation of specimens, Menqiuli devoted almost all his rest time to the specimen room. "Stay here every day when there is no class. Some insects have to be softened because they have been preserved for a long time. For example, the wings of some insects are very fragile. Be extra careful when spreading their wings." Menqiulei said that when making specimens, we must concentrate on not destroying the insect's morphology and strive for completeness.

"Teacher sighed for a long time because of the incomplete tail of the butterfly. Under his influence, we became more and more rigorous in our work." Follow the door teacher to make the specimen said.

When it comes to Men Qiulei, Professor Wu Ganlin, Dean of the School of Life Sciences of Anqing Normal University, does not hide his appreciation for this young doctor: "Men teachers often work in the laboratory on weekends and holidays, sometimes working until the evening, taking the last school bus home." Steadily taking every step is an example for our scientific research workers." (Correspondent Xia Ying Reporter Wang Lei)