ABSTRACT
Research into the life cycle of insects has not only enhanced our understanding of these creatures but also provided eco-friendly methods of controlling the vectors of human, livestock, and crop diseases widespread in the African tropics. Mosquitoes are the vector for spread nagana and human sleeping sickness; black flies transmit river blindness; ticks carry East Coast fever. David Denlinger describes his extensive involvement with the creation and specialized research at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) in Nairobi, Kenya, and his continuing research and teaching at US universities, in particular the training of African scientists preparing them to work on challenges in Africa. Denlinger’s inspiration to work in and on Africa as an entomologist originated in family connections to Eastern Mennonite Missions and the Mennonite Central Committee.
