The morphology of preimaginal stages and male genitalia of Cirina forda (Westwood, 1849) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

The eggs, larvae, imago variability, and male genitalia of Cirina forda (Westwood, 1849) (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) are illustrated.

Diversity, Host Plants and Potential Distribution of Edible Saturniid Caterpillars in Kenya

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.

Microbiological analysis of the Cirina forda (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) commercialized in North Togo

Edible insects are presented as a source of protein, fat and micronutrients. Consequently, they are an attractive growing environment for microorganisms. Although, professionals in this sector in Sub-Saharan Africa use traditional harvesting, processing and marketing techniques, there is little scientific data on the microorganisms that infest edible insects. The aim of this study was to identify the microorganisms present in the Cirina forda supply chain, the most commercially marketed insect species in Togo. A total of 300 samples of fresh, processed and commercial C. forda caterpillars were collected and analyzed using standard microbiological microorganism identification techniques. The caterpillar was 90% contaminated with Staphylococcus spp, 60% by Escherichia coli, 40% by Enterobacter spp, 40% by Aspergillus niger, 30% by Klebsiella pneumoniae and 10% by Mucor spp, Klebsiella oxytoca, Proteus spp, Serratia spp and Aspergillus flavus. Pathogenic microorganisms are found in all samples at all stages of the supply chain, so caterpillars handled using traditional methods are detrimental to the health of the consumer. The presence of germs indicative of contamination of the caterpillar analyzed exposes consumers to the risk of food poisoning. Keywords: Cirina forda, marketing, microorganisms, Togo

Some Physiological Responses of Clarias gariepinus Fed Graded Levels of Cirina forda Larvae Based Diets

The study examined the growth performance, hematological and digestive enzymes of Clarias gariepinus juveniles fed Cirina forda meal (CFM) based diets in the laboratory for a period of 10weeks. Five iso-nitrogenous (30%) experimental diets were formulated at various levels of CFM inclusion levels of 0% (control), 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%, designated as diets Q, A10, B20, C30, D40 and E50 respectively. Fish fed the CFM based diets showed mean weight gain (MWG), specific growth rate (SGR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) comparable to the control diet. There was significant differences in the digestive enzyme activities of the fish as the CFM level in the experimental diets increased. Protease and maltase activities significantly increased, with diet C30 recording the highest maltase activity (4.37) while the cellulase and glucanase activities of the fish significantly (P<0.05) reduced. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the PCV and RBC of the blood of the fish fed the various diets. Highest RBC (2.75 x106/µL) was obtained in fish fed the control diet while the lowest (2.55 x106/µL) was recorded in the fish fed diet E50. The White Blood Cell count and the Neutrophils of the fish fed the trial diets were not significantly higher (P>0.05) than those of the fish fed the control diets. From the results of this experiment, it is concluded that up to 50% inclusion level of Cirina forda meal in the diet of Clarias gariepinus was tolerable for good growth and physiological well-being of the fish.

Influence of Vitellaria Paradoxa Gaertn Depletion on the Incidence, Abundance and Distribution of Cirina Forda Westwood (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in Niger State, Nigeria

The pallid emperor moth, Cirina forda, is a prominent edible insect in Niger State but currently at great risk of extinction. The incidence, abundance and distribution of Cirina forda, was investigated for four consecutive seasons, i.e. May-June 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 to ascertain the effect of the depletion of its host plant, Shea butter trees, Vitellaria paradoxa. in Niger State, Nigeria. C. forda egg clusters located on the host plants were enumerated to ascertain the seasonal abundance by visual counting using hand lenses and binoculars (MARCO-model 750/8 m-988000 m). At each location, 100m2 land area in which three 10m2 portions were mapped as replicate sites, were investigated for host plant density, egg cluster abundance and distribution within three host plant canopy height ranges. The 41 locations in six Local Government Areas (LGAs) where C. forda occurred in Niger State in 2010 were investigated. The result indicated the GPS of each of the locations and showed that Niger state had a very rich but fast dwindling population of V. paradoxa. C. forda egg cluster abundance across the six LGAs showed Niger state as highly endowed but ephemeral and highly unpredictable, especially in terms of location where they occurred. The egg cluster abundance reduced drastically from 58.1± 12.1 and 56.1±24.1 egg cluster/host plant in 2010 and 2011, respectively to 41.3 ± 8.3 and 29.7 ±5.1 egg cluster/host plant in 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons, respectively. Locational similarities were observed in the trends of C. forda host plant density reduction and egg cluster abundance over the four cropping seasons and these were corroborated across the State. The decreasing densities of Shea butter trees was identified as posing serious threats to egg laying by C. forda. The possibility of the extinction of C. forda was identified as imminent and a conservation approach that stems the indiscriminate destruction of host tree, V. paradoxa (Shea butter trees) was proposed.

Effects of Gamma Irradiation of Egg Cells on Macro and Micro Nutrients Composition of the Edible Larval Stage of Cirina Forda (Lepidoptera: Saturnidae)

The need for diversification of cost-effective enrichment of human diets with macro and micro-nutrients has assumed global concerns. To this end, entomophagy has been advocated as a promising source of these nutrients but such must be predicated on the on optimization of nutritional quality of the selected insect candidates, and that informed this study. To achieve this, freshly laid eggs of Cirina forda exposed to a range of Gamma irradiation doses (0, 10, 20 and 50Gy) and subsequently raised through the edible larval stage on Vitellaria paradoxa plant’s leaves. Proximate, mineral and micro-nutrient analyses of the irradiated matured C.forda larvae were carried out following standard biochemical procedures. The results of proximate analysis showed that egg exposure to Gamma irradiation significantly (P<0.05) increased dry matter and carbohydrate contents, at doses of 20Gy and 50Gy, respectively (41.43±0.01 and 21.50±0.14%, respectively), the amount of crude protein, crude fibre and ash reduced slightly in the C.forda larvae, with exposure to increasing dose of gamma irradiation (from 54.82±0.12 to 50.32±0.09, 3.93±0.11 to 0.05±0.04 and 8.50±0.07 to 6.38±0.11, respectively). The mineral analysis indicated that while, the amounts of Ca and Mn attained significant peaks in larvae whose eggs were exposed to irradiation doses of 50Gy and 10Gy, respectively (36.03±0.01 and 8.27±0.01%, respectively), Gamma irradiation significantly reduced the concentration of Mg, K, and Fe in the insects. The micro-nutrient content of the C.forda was denominated by Leucine, Arginine and Phenylalanine, with highest concentration of 7.20±0.01, 6.86±0.01 and 5.41±0.01%, respectively, and were not significantly (p<0.05) affected by gamma irradiation. These results suggest that gamma irradiation is promising in improving certain nutrition contents of C.forda and may exert a mitigating effect on anti-feedants inherent in the insect species, which need to be investigated urgently