Professor Utako Kurosu (Faculty of Economics) won the Prize of The Entomological Society of Japan at the 74th Meeting of The Entomological Society of Japan, which was held at Hiroshima University from September 14 to 16, 2014.

Professor Kurosu was awarded the prize for her thesis “The aphid Ceratovacuna nekoashi (Hemiptera: Aphididae: Hormaphidinae) and its allied species in Korea, Japan and Taiwan.” The thesis was recognized for its use of DNA and shape analysis to clarify how Ceratovacuna nekoashi in Korea, Japan and Taiwan originate from 4 types of related species. This thesis also unraveled their life cycle. Professor Kurosu conducted joint research with Shigeyuki Aoki of Rissho University, Mayako Kutsukake and Takema Fukatsu of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Man-Miao Yang and Tsung-Jui Hsieh of National Chung Hsing University (Taiwan), and Jae C. Choe of Ewha University (Korea).