Arnold van Huis
Tropical entomologist
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arnoldvanhuis@gmail.com
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arnold.vanhuis@wur.nl
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31-6-3819-1490
Specialist in integrated pest management, now focused on insects for food and feed
What is new?
The plane crash in Kenya that changed my life – and my university
Published 13 August 2026: Van Huis, A., 2026. Disgust, culture and colonial legacies in attitudes toward edible insects. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. https://lnkd.in/eeStSaYX
Red underlined parts are clickable
Edible Insects
My work on edible insects became a global game changer, highlighted by the publication of an Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) book and the organization of an international conference.
Integrated Pest Management
This concerns a number of projects such as:
- Biocontrol of stemborers in Kenya
- Biocontrol leaffolders in the Phillippines
- IPM farmer field schools in Zanzibar
- Managing bruchid pests in Benin
- IPM in maize in Nicaragua
Locusts
We investigated strategies to manage the desert locust in Africa and the Middle East
Bruchids
This project deals with biological control of bruchids – storage pests of cowpea in West Africa – using an egg parasitoid.
CoS
The Convergence of Sciences project concerns an interdisplinary Research project dealing with investigating how to conduct agricultural research in West Africa.
Travel stories
As a student I spent one year in Africa. In three parts I documented this stay in three travel stories:
- Half a year in Côte d’ Ivoire
- 6000 km accross Africa during Two months hitch hiking from Côte d’ Ivoire to Kenya
- Half a year in Kenya: safaris and termite research
Insects in African Culture
In 1995 and 2000 I visited 27 countries in Africa and interviewed 250 people about the cultural aspect of insects as food, toy or medicine, and in stories, songs, etc., etc.
A number of articles have been published. I provide some highlights.
Important lectures
When I became professor I gave an inaugural lecture entitled: Insect, respect and societal effect (Dutch)
When I gave my farewell address as professor I gave a lecture entitled: The global impact of Insects (English)
Interviews
I appeared in several interviews about the eating of insects (youtube and blogs). And here are the links:
Important entomologists
The plane crash in Kenya that changed my life – and my university
For all pictures used on this website, you can find the attributions here.
This website is a personal account of events experienced during my professional career. It reflects my recollections, impressions, and opinions based on events that occurred many years ago. Human memory is imperfect, and conversations are reconstructed to the best of my recollection. Where appropriate, names and identifying details have been omitted or altered to protect the privacy of individuals. The purpose of these accounts is not to criticize particular persons or organizations but to illustrate broader ethical and professional dilemmas that can arise in international development and scientific work.