Search

Plastic waste has recently become a major global environmental concern and one of the biggest challenges has been seeking for alternative management options. Several studies have revealed the potential of several coleopteran species to degrade plastics, and this is the first research paper on plastic-degradation potential by lesser mealworms from Africa. This study evaluated the whole mitogenomic profile of the lesser mealworm to further identify the insect. The ability of the mealworm to consume Polystyrene (PS) was also evaluated alongside its associated gut microbiota diversity. Our results showed a complete circular mitochondrial genome which clustered closely to the Alphitobius genus but also suggested that our insect might be a new subspecies which require further identification. During the PS feeding trials, overall survival rates of the larvae decreased when fed a sole PS diet while PS intake was observed to increase over a 30-day period. The predominant bacteria observed in larvae fed PS diets were Kluyvera, Lactococcus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, and Enterococcus, while Stenotrophomonas dominated the control diet. These findings demonstrated that the newly identified lesser mealworm can survive on a PS diet and has a consortium of important bacteria strongly associated with PS degradation. This work provides a better understanding of bioremediation applications, paving the way for further research into the metabolic pathways of plastic-degrading microbes and bringing hope to solving plastic waste pollution while providing high-value insect protein towards a circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Termites are widely distributed globally and serve as a valuable food source in many countries. However, information on the myriad nutritional benefits of processed termite products in African markets remain largely unexploited. This study evaluated the phytochemicals, fatty acids, amino acids, minerals, vitamins and proximate composition of the edible winged termites (Macrotermes spp.) from three major Counties of Kenya. A total of 9 flavonoids, 5 alkaloids, and 1 cytokinin were identified. The oil content varied from 33 to 46%, exhibiting significant levels of beneficial omega 3 fatty acids, such as methyl (9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadecatrienoate and methyl (5Z,8Z,11Z,14Z,17Z)-eicosapentaenoate, ranging from 82.7–95.1 to 6.3–8.1 µg/g, respectively, across the different regions. Four essential and cereal-limiting amino acids lysine (1.0–1.3 mg/g), methionine (0.08–0.1 mg/g), leucine (0.6–0.9 mg/g) and threonine (0.1–0.2 mg/g), were predominant. Moreover, termites had a rich profile of essential minerals, including iron (70.7–111.8 mg/100 g), zinc (4.4–16.2 mg/100 g) and calcium (33.1–53.0 mg/100 g), as well as vitamins A (2.4–6.4 mg/kg), C (0.6–1.9 mg/kg) and B12 (10.7–17.1 mg/kg). The crude protein (32.2–44.8%) and fat (41.2–49.1%) contents of termites from the various Counties was notably high. These findings demonstrated the promising nutrients potential of winged termites and advocate for their sustainable utilization in contemporary efficacious functional food applications to combat malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising feed cost challenges due to expensive conventional protein sources continue to make headlines in Africa causing drops in profit margins. We assessed the impact of insect (Hermetia illucens Linnaeus larvae meal, HILM) protein as a substitute for soybean meal and sunflower seed cake on layer chicken performance and profitability. Our results showed that apart from the growers, chicks (12.37 g/bird) and layer hens (2.02 g/bird) fed diets with 75% HILM inclusion levels had significantly higher average daily weight gain. The average daily feed intake (ADFI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) varied significantly when the chicks and layer hens were provided with the HILM-based diets. For the chicks and layer hens, the lowest ADFI and FCR were observed in birds subjected to diets with 75% and 100% HILM compared to the growers fed diets with 50% HILM. Significantly higher egg production was observed for layer hens fed diets containing 75% of HILM throughout the first (87.41%) and second (83.05%) phase production cycles. Layer hens fed HILM-based diets had a 3–10% increase in egg laying percentage. There was higher profit margins when birds were fed diets containing 75% of HILM (∼1.83 and 5.98 US$ per bird), which mirrored the return on investment estimated at 63.95% and 33.36% for the pullets (growers) and laying hen, respectively. Our findings demonstrate that diets with 75% HILM provided optimum growth performance, reduced feeding costs, increased weight gain and egg production as well as improved economic returns for commercial on-farm poultry production systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Despite edible insects being possible future food sources, studies on the nutritional properties of some of the insects are still limited. Gonimbrasia cocaulti (GC), a saturniid caterpillar, is a delicacy in some communities in Africa, yet there is no information on its nutrition profile to provide insight on their contribution to rural household nutrition. This study provides in-depth knowledge on the nutritional composition of the edible larval stage of G. cocaulti and the pupal life stages of the domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori) and Eri silkworm (Samia Cynthia ricini). The results showed that the edible stage of GC had significantly high levels of linoleic acid, minerals (Ca, Fe, K), vitamins (B6, B9, B12, α-tocopherol) and crude fiber. The crude protein content of the larval and pupal stages of the various insects ranged between 50 and 62%. It is evident that the developmental life stage of GC and silkworms have adequate nutrients that could allow them to be utilized as ingredients in food fortification. This study aimed to provide information on the nutrients of the edible larval stage of Gonimbrasia cocaulti (GC) for the first time, while exploring the potential nutrient content of the pupal life stages of the domestic silkworm (Bombyx mori; BM) and the Eri silkworm (Samia Cynthia ricini; SC). The three insects were analyzed for fatty acids, minerals, proximate composition and vitamins. Among the fatty acids, linoleic, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, was approximately threefold higher in GC than in the silkworms. The Ca, Fe and K contents were highest in GC. However, the Zn and Na contents were highest in BM, while Mg content was predominant in SC. The crude protein content of the various developmental life stages of the edible caterpillars and pupae ranged between 50 and 62%. Further, the fiber content of GC was substantially higher compared to the pupal stages of the two silkworm species. The vitamin (B6, B9, B12 and α-tocopherol) levels of the two insect life stages were considerably high. These insects are comparably rich in nutrients with potential suitability to be utilized in food fortification and thus ease pressure on the over-reliance on animal and plant-based sources, which are becoming unsustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, most gut microbiota-related studies have focused on broilers due to their diverse microbial communities compared to that of layer chicken. However, in Africa few studies have been undertaken despite the increasing benefits to the poultry industry. The utilization of Insect-Based diets to improve the gastrointestinal function and gut health in poultry is increasingly gaining global attention. Here, we evaluated the potential roles of commercial black soldier fly larvae-based feeds (BSFLF) in reshaping the abundance, composition and diversity of the gut microbiota of layer chickens using high throughput Oxford nanopore Minion sequencing of the full length bacterial 16S rRNA gene. Two hundred and fifty ISA Brown layer chicks were reared in pens for a period of 20 weeks. The layer pullets were allotted 5 dietary treatments that were formulated as follows: control diet (T1): 100% FM + 0% BSFL, T2: 25% BSFL + 75% FM; T3: 50% BSFL + 50% FM; T4: 75% BSFL + 25% FM, and T5: 100% BSFL + 0% FM. Sampling was done from the eight major regions including oesophagus, crop, proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, ileum, large intestines and ceca. Out of the 400,064 classified reads analyzed, the most dominant phyla identified across the feed treatments were Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria. The diet treatment with 100% inclusion levels of BSFL showed the highest intra-species alpha diversity and richness according to Chao1 and Shannon index. Intra-species beta diversity assessment revealed that the diet types significantly influenced the abundance of the microbiota, but differences between most abundant taxa were similar. There was increase in abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus, Bacteroides and Enterococcus) with increased inclusion levels of BSFLF in layer pullets diets. Across the different gut segments, Lactobacillus dominated all the eight regions and the ceca was the most diverse segment. Our findings unravel complex gut microbial shift in laying hen fed BSFLF and therefore underpins the potential roles of beneficial bacteria as promising prebiotics and probiotics in reshaping of the gut microbiota to maintain good gut health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild swarms of the long-horned grasshoppers Ruspolia differens (Serville) which are widely harvested for consumption and sale in Africa are seasonal and unsustainable, hence the need for innovative ways of artificially producing the insects. We investigated the development, survival, and reproduction of R. differens in the laboratory on diets mixed with host plants [ Digitaria gayana Kunth, Cynodon dactylon (L.) and Megathyrsus maximus Jacq (Poales: Poaceae); Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asterales: Asteraceae)] identified from guts of their wild conspecifics with a view to developing a suitable diet for artificial mass rearing of the edible insect. A standard diet comprising ground black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Startiomyidae) larvae, soybean flour, maize flour, vitamin premix, and ground bones was tested for rearing R. differens as a control against the same ingredients incorporated with individual powders of the different host plants. Whereas R. differens developed more slowly in the diet mixed with D. gayana than in the control diet; its development was faster in the diet mixed with C. dactylon. Mortalities of R. differens in host plant-based diets were 42.5–52.5%, far lower than in the control diet with 71% mortality. The insects raised on the diet mixed with M. maximus laid approximately twice more eggs compared to R. differens fecundities from the rest of the diets. However, inclusion of host plants in the diets had no detectable influence on R. differens adult weight and longevity. These findings support inclusion of specific host plants in artificial diets used for mass rearing of R. differens to enhance its survival, development, and fecundity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African citrus triozid (ACT) Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) Diaphorina citri (Kuwayama) (Hemiptera: Liviidae) are primary vectors of the 'Candidatus' Liberibacter spp. ACT is associated with 'Candidatus Liberibacter africanus' (CLaf) causal agent of the African citrus greening disease (ACGD), whereas ACP vectors 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (CLas) and 'Candidatus Liberibacter americanus' (CLam), the Asian and the American strains, respectively, associated with huanglongbing.A preliminary survey in Kenyan citrus groves after the invasion of ACP had revealed that lime‐green sticky traps (Asacp) were not effective in detecting and monitoring ACT and ACP. Therefore, this study compared eight differently coloured double‐sided sticky traps to evaluate, which colour was most effective for detecting ACT and ACP, particularly at low densities. The traps were coded Red, Blue, Asgreen1, GLMgreen, Asacp, Asyellow, White, and Black.Asyellow and GLMgreen traps captured more ACTs and ACPs than any other trap type. However, since there was no clear difference in the efficiency of Asyellow and GLMgreen in trapping ACP, any of the two trap types would be useful in the presence of both pests.Among the eight traps, Asyellow and GLMgreen traps are potentially promising options for monitoring and detecting the pests in areas where they coexist.Our findings will guide biosecurity agencies in decision‐making and designing ecologically friendly integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for citrus greening vectors in Africa as well as serve as an early warning to safeguard against pests' invasion into unaffected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scapsipedus icipe Hugel and Tanga (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) is a newly described edible cricket species. Although, there is substantial interest in mass production of S. icipe for human food and animal feed, no information exists on the impact of temperature on their bionomics. Temperature-dependent development, survival, reproductive and life table parameters of S. icipe was generated and integrated into advanced Insect Life Cycle Modeling software to describe relative S. icipe population increase and spatial spread based on nine constant temperature conditions. We examined model predictions and implications for S. icipe potential distribution in Africa under current and future climate. These regions where entomophagy is widely practiced have distinctly different climates. Our results showed that S. icipe eggs were unable to hatch at 10 and 40°C, while emerged nymphs failed to complete development at 15°C. The developmental time of S. icipe was observed to decrease with increased in temperature. The lowest developmental threshold temperatures estimated using linear regressions was 14.3, 12.67 and 19.12°C and the thermal constants for development were 185.2, 1111.1- and 40.7-degree days (DD) for egg, nymph and pre-adult stages, respectively. The highest total fecundity (3416 individuals/female/generation), intrinsic rate of natural increase (0.075 days), net reproductive rate (1330.8 female/female/generation) and shortest doubling time (9.2 days) was recorded at 30°C. The regions predicted to be suitable by the model suggest that S. icipe is tolerant to a wider range of climatic conditions. Our findings provide for the first-time important information on the impact of temperature on the biology, establishment and spread of S. icipe across the Africa continent. The prospect of edible S. icipe production to become a new sector in food and feed industry is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Edible insects are a traditional food source with economic benefits in sub-Saharan Africa. Caterpillars are the most popular edible insects in this region. We focus on caterpillars in the family Saturniidae. Saturniids are big colorful caterpillars with spines on their bodies, usually found in shrubs and trees. They are rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Despite their economic importance, little is known about their diversity, host plants, distribution, and potential effect of climate change on edible saturniid caterpillars in Africa. The aim of this study is to identify edible saturniids, their host plants, their current distribution and to predict the possible effects of climate change on their distribution. We documented seven species of edible saturniids namely Gonimbrasia zambesina, Gonimbrasia krucki, Bunaea alcinoe, Gonimbrasia cocaulti, Gonimbrasia belina, Gynanisa nigra and Cirina forda. These caterpillars mostly occur twice a year during the rainy seasons and feed on specific host plants. Predictive distribution models revealed that B. alcinoe, and C. forda are mostly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions in Africa. However, climate change could cause a slight decrease in their population by the year 2050. This information will guide conservation efforts and ensure sustainable use of edible saturniid caterpillars as food. The promotion of edible insects, including saturniid caterpillars as potential food source is widely gaining momentum. They are adequately rich in nutrients such as proteins, amino acids, fatty acids, and micronutrients. Despite saturniids being a traditional food source with economic benefits, information on their diversity, host plants and their potential distribution in Africa are lacking, which this study seeks to address. Edible saturniids and their host plants were characterized using specific primers (LepF1/LepR1 and 3F_KIM_F/1R_KIM_R, respectively). Maximum entropy (MaxENT) and GARP (genetic algorithm for ruleset production) models were used to characterize the potential distribution of commonly consumed saturniids under current and future climate scenarios. Seven species of saturniids were recorded from 11 host plants in Kenya: Gonimbrasia zambesina, Gonimbrasia krucki, Bunaea alcinoe, Gonimbrasia cocaulti, Gonimbrasia belina, Gynanisa nigra and Cirina forda. Two morphotypes of G. zambesina and B. alcinoe were recorded. These saturniid caterpillars occur twice a year except for G. cocaulti. Predictive models revealed that tropical and subtropical regions were potentially suitable for B. alcinoe and C. forda. The information generated from this study would be important to guide conservation efforts and their sustainable utilization as food in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joel is one of the 12 minor prophets (dōdekaprophēton). His prophecy aims at calling the nation and people to repentance through emphasizing that the Day of the Lord (yōm ădȏnay) is at hand (3:1–5 [2:28–32]). The locust plague (ʾarbbeh) in Joel's message—which recalls the insects that threaten to destroy crops and vegetation in Africa and beyond, but which can also be used as food and livestock feed and offer other benefits as well—could be interpreted as Joel's prophetic sign that the great Day of the Lord is near (1:2–2:17). Throughout history, scholars, theologians, and exegetes of differing schools of thought and from numerous locations have offered various interpretations for Joel's prophecy and subjected it to diverse Eurocentric and Americo-centric hermeneutical methods. This work, however, with its focus on Africa, takes a different approach. Drawing from the work of many African hermeneuticians, it reads Joel's prophecy using the tools of African Biblical Hermeneutics (ABH), a post-colonial enterprise, in light of the decolonial turn. The article exegetes and theologically analyzes the narrative of the locust plague (ʾarbbeh) in Joel 1:2–7, within the context of Joel 1–3, with the hopes that it will be transformational and beneficial for African readers within their faith context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]