Saliou Niassy

African edible insects for food and feed: inventory, diversity, commonalities and contribution to food security

This paper reviews entomophagy as practised in Africa within the context of food and nutritional security by providing an inventory of the various species of insects that are consumed on the continent and suggests a research for development (R4D) agenda for sustainable utilisation of insects for food and feed. Our survey showed that over 470 species of insects are eaten in Africa. The Central African region remains the most important hotspot of having a culture of entomophagy. The insects mostly eaten in the continent are dominated by the orders Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and Coleoptera. Commonalities were observed across the majority of the insects consumed across Africa, providing opportunities for related R4D activities. An R4D agenda and pathways for using edible insects suggest that socio-economics and marketing studies should address issues of communities’ perceptions, based on their cultural background, income and beliefs. Cost-effective rearing, harvesting and processing technologies are required to ...

Selection of promising fungal biological control agent of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)

Aims:  Larval stages of Frankliniella occidentalis are known to be refractory to fungal infection compared with the adult stage. The objective of this study was to identify promising fungal isolate(s) for the control of larval stages of F. occidentalis.

Spatial separation of semiochemical Lurem-TR and entomopathogenic fungi to enhance their compatibility and infectivity in an autoinoculation system for thrips management

Abstract BACKGROUND The effect of spatial separation of the semiochemical Lurem‐TR, which has been found to inhibit conidia of entomopathogenic fungi when put together, on the persistence of conidia of Metarhizium brunneum and M. anisopliae was evaluated in the greenhouse and field in order to develop an autodissemination strategy for the management of Megalurothrips sjostedti on cowpea crop. Influence of spatial separation of the semiochemical on thrips attraction and conidial acquisition by thrips from the autoinoculation device was also investigated in the field. RESULTS Persistence of conidia of M. brunneum and M. anisopliae increased with distance of separation of Lurem‐TR. Direct exposure of fungus without separation from Lurem‐TR recorded the lowest conidial germination as compared with the other treatments. Attraction of thrips to the device also varied significantly according to distance between device and semiochemical, with a higher number of thrips attracted when Lurem‐TR was placed in a container below the device and at 10 cm distance. There was no significant difference in conidial acquisition between spatial separation treatments of conidia and Lurem‐TR. Attraction of other insect pests to the device did not significantly vary between treatments. Positive correlations were found between conidial acquisition and thrips attraction. CONCLUSION This study suggests that spatial separation of fungal conidia from Lurem‐TR in an autoinoculation device could provide a low‐cost strategy for effective management of thrips in grain legume cropping systems.

Fungal endophytes as promising tools for the management of bean stem maggot Ophiomyia phaseoli on beans Phaseolus vulgaris

Common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an important food and cash crop in Africa. Its production is seriously affected by the bean stem maggot (BSM), Ophiomyia spp., which attacks seedlings. We evaluated the ability of eleven fungal isolates to colonize bean plants and the effects of inoculation on BSM feeding and oviposition, pupation, and adult emergence. All fungal isolates were able to colonize different bean plant parts (root, stem, and leaves), except isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana isolate ICIPE 273. Colonization was generally higher on the roots than on the stem and leaves and varied significantly between the fungal isolates. BSM feeding and oviposition were significantly reduced in all the fungus-inoculated bean plants which in turn affected pupation and adult emergence as compared to the control. Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE 20 outperformed the other isolates in interfering with BSM lifecycle. Although M. anisopliae ICIPE 78 recorded a high number of punctures similar to the control, a significant reduction in the number of pupae and adult emergence was observed, suggesting possible BSM growth inhibition. This study clearly demonstrates that fungal endophytes can be considered as promising tools for the management of BSM in East Africa.

Towards more equal footing in north-south biodiversity research : European and sub-Saharan viewpoints

Research collaboration between developed countries from the northern hemisphere and developing countries in the southern hemisphere is essential for the understanding and protection of the major proportion of biodiversity located in the tropics. Focusing on the case of sub-Saharan Africa, we here assess the real involvement of northern versus southern contributors, and caution against unequal academic benefit sharing arising from non-commercial biodiversity research that may ultimately hamper sustainable knowledge transfer and long-term biodiversity conservation. We discuss possible drivers that may have led to a business of raw biodiversity data. While we fully support the current efforts to stamp out biopiracy through international biodiversity policies and agreements, we illustrate that such legislative frameworks may further constrain biodiversity research, especially in countries where regulations are poorly streamlined and bureaucracy remains rather inert. We therefore ask for workable solutions towards more equal footing in north–south biodiversity research, and propose a number of steps to transgress the current barriers towards a more fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from biodiversity research.

Some key elements on entomophagy in Africa: culture, gender and belief

Edible insects are a natural renewable food resource and, within the context of food security could be one solution for Africa. Although, entomophagy is still being practiced in Africa, there is a degree of rejection in certain milieu due to negative images associated with insects and poor awareness efforts. In order to understand the key elementsthat govern entomophagy in Africa, we conducted an online survey on edible insects in African countries anddocumented the importance of insects, cultures and believes associated to their use. We eventually looked at genderparticipation in entomophagy. Study showed that insect consumption can be restricted to one tribe, community or toa whole region. Distinct ethnic names of edible insects and their respective host plant presented in this study implythat entomophagy constitutes an important part of community livelihood and can be easily promoted. However, insects are mainly used as complementary food, and in very few occasions, as main food. They are also used for...

Active aggregation among sexes in bean flower thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti) on cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)

Male sexual aggregations are a common territorial, mating‐related or resource‐based, behaviour observed in diverse organisms, including insects such as thrips. The influence of factors such as plant substrate, time of day, and geographic location on aggregation of thrips is uncertain, therefore we monitored the dispersion of male and female bean flower thrips (BFT), Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), on cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. (Fabaceae), over three cowpea growth stages and across three cowpea‐growing areas of Kenya. Our results indicated that for all the crop growth stages, the density of BFTs varied over the time of day, with higher densities at 10:00, 13:00, and 16:00 hours than at 07:00 hours. Thrips densities did not differ among blocks at the budding stage, but they did at peak flowering and podding stages. Dispersion indices suggested that both male and female BFTs were aggregated. Active male aggregation occurred only on green plant parts and it varied across blocks, crop stages, and locations. Similarly, active female aggregation was observed in peak flowering and podding stages. Such active aggregation indicates a semiochemical or behaviour‐mediated aggregation. Identification of such a semiochemical may offer new opportunities for refining monitoring and management strategies for BFT on cowpea, the most important grain legume in sub‐Saharan Africa.

Use of Metarhizium anisopliae Chitinase Genes for Genotyping and Virulence Characterization

Virulence is the primary factor used for selection of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) for development as biopesticides. To understand the genetic mechanisms underlying differences in virulence of fungal isolates on various arthropod pests, we compared the chitinase genes, chi2 and chi4, of 8 isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae. The clustering of the isolates showed various groups depending on their virulence. However, the analysis of their chitinase DNA sequences chi2 and chi4 did not reveal major divergences. Although their protein translates have been implicated in fungal virulence, the predicted protein structure of chi2 was identical for all isolates. Despite the critical role of chitin digestion in fungal infection, we conclude that chi2 and chi4 genes cannot serve as molecular markers to characterize observed variations in virulence among M. anisopliae isolates as previously suggested. Nevertheless, processes controlling the efficient upregulation of chitinase expression might be responsible for different virulence characteristics. Further studies using comparative “in vitro” chitin digestion techniques would be more appropriate to compare the quality and the quantity of chitinase production between fungal isolates.

African indigenous knowledge on edible insects to guide research and policy

Entomophagy is an ancient practice viewed as a potential solution to food security and sustainable ecosystemmanagement in Africa. However, its expansion is challenged by several factors including acculturation, urbanisationand lack of information. Knowledge on indigenous practices can contribute to refining ongoing research activities and stimulate the development of adequate technologies to guide research, business and policy in entomophagy. We documented indigenous practices using outcomes of an online survey conducted between 2013 and 2015 and intensive literature crowd sourcing. Edible insects are mainly collected from wild harvesting using different methods. Although respondents acknowledged the existence of rearing technologies, no comprehensive procedure wasdescribed. We found that after collection, the processing techniques for either consumption or commercialisation varied. Our survey revealed that sun drying was the most commonly used processing technique probably because it does not require muc...

A new edible cricket species from Africa of the genus Scapsipedus

A new cricket of the genus Scapsipedus is described from Kenya. The distribution, acoustic behavior, including call and courtship song, mitochondrial sequences, and data on the biology of that new species are given. This edible cricket is a very promising species for mass production for food and feed.