Koutaro Ould Maeno 前野 ウルド 浩太郎

Koutaro Ould Maeno (1980-) was born in Akita Prefecture. Familiarly known as “Dr. Locust“, he is an entomologist. He is currently a researcher at the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences. After earning his Doctor of Agricultural Science degree from Kobe University Graduate School, he was a term assistant professor at Kyoto University’s Hakubi Center before taking up his present position. He has dedicated himself to the development of pest control measures for the desert locust that plagues crops in Africa with massive outbreaks. His publications include Kodoku na batta ga mureru toki: Sabaku tobibatta no sō-hen’i to dai-hassei (When Solitarious Locusts Gregarize: Phase Polyphenism and Outbreak in the Desert Locust), for which he won the Books Worth Reading Grand Prize. Batta wo taoshi ni Afurika e (A Bug-Catcher’s Adventures in Africa) is the first work he has written for the lay reader.