Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien: Insects chose me

Making nutritious nuggets from pollen and honey bees, making paintings from conifers, building projects to help farmers breed and exploit ‘gold’ from insects… Those are the dreams of Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien.
Insects choose me

I have a chance to chat with Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien , former lecturer of Biology Department, University of Natural Sciences, VNU, leading entomologist in Vietnam about 10 years ago. At that time, he was retired and was dreaming with his friends to open a gallery of paintings made from insects. At the age of 80, Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien is still working hard. After a few years, I had the opportunity again follow GS.TS. Bui Cong Hien visit the artificial butterfly farming model in Ba Vi (Hanoi) made by himself. During those meetings, he told me about the insect world, about the benefits of insects and his predestined relationship with insects. He said, when he was still a student, he studied at the Department of Physics, Hanoi University (now Hanoi National University). He said that at that time his knowledge of insects was very little. Most of the time the teacher assigns a topic to do it. he did “Study on the phototropism of insects”, “Biology and ecology of the rice weevil (Sitophilus oryzae)” all suggested by the instructors. “Later, when I was retained as a teaching staff, I was assigned to the insect group of the Department of Invertebrates, Department of Biology. When going to work as a PhD student in the GDR, following the advice of Prof. Dao Van Tien, I chose the direction of research on Insect Physiology, a very bony research direction. Maybe I have a predestined relationship with insects, so insects chose me,” he wittily shared. He said, from that fate, he focused on researching insects in many directions such as insect pests, applied entomology, pheromones of insects, insects in Vietnam and prevention of harmful insects. , insect resources in Vietnam and valuable insects… From these studies, the benefits of insects he called “gold mines”. He affirmed that with more than 1 million species and living in all habitats, there is no creature that is attached to humans, being both “enemies” and “friends” like insects. Although small, the insect world is both “romantic” and “realistic”. Insects can kill people, but they also create jobs that feed millions. He asked the question: if insects were not present on the planet, how would humans live when the earth was filled with dead animals and plants; when the fruit is not pollinated… Sad because Vietnam is wasting gold mines Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien said, when studying insects, he discovered that many people call insects “insects” implying that insects are harmful species. Insects are “guilty” to humans. But that makes up less than 1% of the more than 1 million species. In fact, we are “a worm that upsets the whole pot of insect soup”. Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien said, we don’t know how to mine gold from insects. He said that insects bring 10 benefits to nature and 15 benefits to humans such as making food, beautifying, improving soil, pollinating plants… Especially Vietnam is a country with high biodiversity, with a large number of insects. However, we do not yet know how to mine gold from insects. Currently, according to GS.TS. Bui Cong Hien, in our country, the conservation and exploitation of insects, especially those in the wild, are rarely studied. “I had the opportunity to go through the market in Dien Bien, and saw the sale of worms and bees… I feel so sorry. Because people spontaneously exploiting insects have been both “victims” of poverty and backwardness, and “criminals” of biodiversity destruction”, he confided. “Why not research and help them breed these objects into farms to harvest and process valuable products like some countries have done. Why in many countries there are companies trading insects, but in Vietnam, they only sell at the market like hundreds of years ago. Earlier this year, the EU allowed the farming of mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) as food for humans, while in Vietnam only selling mealworms for ornamental birds,” he added. Plans at the age of 80 Currently, Prof. Dr. Bui Cong Hien has turned 80. However, he still cherishes many plans. The gallery made from insects in the past could not open for many reasons, but now he is still determined to do it. Nutritious nuggets from insects that he used to make successfully in the past, with recipes and designs available, he did not want to give up halfway. “I raised the issue with the Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports and the Bac Ninh Museum. In my opinion, besides traditional Dong Ho paintings, there should be Dong Ho paintings from butterfly wings to enrich folk paintings. Now I’m waiting for funding,” he revealed. The famous entomologist also said: Currently, he has researched and completed the process and technology of insect breeding, and the technology of making nutritious nuggets from insects. What he wishes is that there are businesses and entrepreneurs who realize the value of supporting insects, or invest in building a project to breed and exploit a few specific insect species. He said he is willing to transfer the technology. Invite readers to watch the video: Dangers of using weight loss foods online. Source: VTV24.