Insect Work Earns Hall of Fame Induction

A 14-year-old boy from Oxnard was one of six students chosen nationwide to be inducted into the 1996 Kids’ Hall of Fame, a program created by Pizza Hut and National Geographic World Magazine.

James Fujita will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, honoring contributions in entomology and public service, at a Sept. 19 ceremony at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C. Each student will receive a $10,000 post-high school scholarship.

James is credited for discovering a new species of Jerusalem cricket and catching the first mutant white monarch butterfly on the island of Hawaii. Since 1991, James, who gives many volunteer public presentations, has been preparing an inventory of insects for nine Nature Conservancy Preserves.