Ethnozoological study of medicinal animals used by the inhabitants of the Kucha District, Gamo Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Background: An ethnozoological study of medicinal animals in the Kucha district, Gamo zone, Southern Ethiopia, was conducted to investigate and document the use of traditional medicinal animals and the associated indigenous knowledge. Tribal people still make abundant use of animals and their parts to manage diseases in humans and even livestock.

Method: A cross sectional study design and purposively sampling techniques were used.

Anatomy and ultrastructural details of the eye of the passalid beetle Ceracupes yui Okano 1988 (Scarabaeoidea; Passalidae).

One of the least studied eyes of any beetle taxon are those of the scarabaeoid family Passalidae. Some members of this family of around 600 species worldwide are known to have superposition eyes (Aceraius grandis; A. hikidai) while others have apposition eyes (Cylindrocaulus patalis; Ceracupes yui).

Sperm Competition and Paternity in the Endangered Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae: Lampyrinae).

The endangered terrestrial firefly (Olivier) is endemic to China. Populations of have decreased dramatically due to urbanization and pollution. Breeding and re-introduction to a suitable habitat may save the species from becoming extinct.

An Improved Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of the Firefly .

The endemic and endangered Chinese firefly is a sexually dimorphic, nocturnal species. A previous attempt by this team to assemble a draft genome of using PacBio and Illumina HiSeq X Ten platforms was limited in its usefulness by high redundancy and contamination. This prompted us to conduct an improved chromosome-level genome assembly of .

Embracing Tradition: The Vital Role of Traditional Foods in Achieving Nutrition Security.

In a press release from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2019, it was reported that, currently, a mere 12 plants and 5 animal species account for approximately 75% of global food production [...

Interest in Insects as Food and Feed: It Does Not Wane in the Public Domain.

This Special Issue of represents Volume 2 of the topic "Edible Insects as Innovative Foods: Nutritional, Functional and Acceptability Assessments" [...

A histochemical and morphological study of the mucus producing pedal gland system in Latia neritoides (Mollusca; Gastropoda; Hygrophila).

The freshwater gastropod Latia neritoides is endemic to the streams of New Zealand's North Island. This species has evolved a unique defence system: it exudes a luminescent mucus thought to deter predators. While the bioluminescence itself has been investigated before, the underlying gland system has remained unstudied and relevant information to understand the defence system has been missing till now.

Can Molecularly Engineered Plant Galls Help to Ease the Problem of World Food Shortage (and Our Dependence on Pollinating Insects)?

The world faces numerous problems and two of them are global food shortages and the dwindling number of pollinating insects. Plant products that do not arise from pollination are plant galls, which as in the case of oak apples, can resemble fruits and be the size of a cherry. It is suggested that once research has understood how chemical signals from gall-inducing insects program a plant to produce a gall, it should be possible to mimic and to improve nature and "bioengineer" designer galls of different sizes, colorations and specific contents to serve as food or a source of medicinally useful compounds.

An anatomical and ultrastructural study of the eye of the luminescent millipede Paraspirobolus lucifugus (Gervais 1836) (Diplopoda, Spirobolida, Spiroboleliidae).

The two forward-looking eyes and their ultrastructural organization of an 18 mm long adult bioluminescent female millipede (Paraspirobolus lucifugus) were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Each eye contained approximately 23 ommatidia with 50-60 μm wide and 80 um thick corneal lenses that contained calcium and silicon and proximally ended in truncated flat surfaces of around 20 μm in diameter. A maximally 28 μm thick and 25 μm long rhabdom, made up of at least 12-14 retinula cells and a 4 μm thick sleeve of screening pigment granules in a light-adapted position was present.

In Vitro Study of Cricket Chitosan's Potential as a Prebiotic and a Promoter of Probiotic Microorganisms to Control Pathogenic Bacteria in the Human Gut.

In this study, cricket chitosan was used as a prebiotic. , and were identified as probiotic bacteria. Cricket chitin was deacetylated to chitosan and added to either De Man Rogosa and Sharpe or bacterial growth media at the rates of 1%, 5%, 10%, or 20% to obtain chitosan-supplemented media.

Regeneration in Reptiles Generally and the New Zealand Tuatara in Particular as a Model to Analyse Organ Regrowth in Amniotes: A Review.

The ability to repair injuries among reptiles, i.e., ectothermic amniotes, is similar to that of mammals with some noteworthy exceptions.

Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages.

We examined the contents of nutritional importance, i.e., amino acids, fatty acids and minerals of different developmental stages of drones of two honey bee subspecies, namely and .

Chemical Composition, Nutrient Quality and Acceptability of Edible Insects Are Affected by Species, Developmental Stage, Gender, Diet, and Processing Method.

Edible insects have been considered as either nutritious food itemsper se, or as wholesome ingredients to various dishes and components of traditional subsistence. Protein, fat, mineral and vitamin contents in insects generally satisfy the requirements of healthy food, although there is considerable variation associated with insect species, collection site, processing method, insect life stage, rearing technology and insect feed. A comparison of available data(based on dry weight) showed that processing can improve the nutrient content, taste, flavour, appearance and palatability of insects, but that there are additional factors, which can impact the content and composition of insect species that have been recommended for consumption by humans.

Selection and Validation of Suitable Reference Genes for RT-qPCR Analysis in the Rare Aquatic Firefly (Coleoptera: Lampyridae).

Fu and Ballantyne is a species of rare aquatic firefly and endemic in China. It is considered good material to study the molecular mechanism of sexual flash communication systems. To improve conservation and behavioral research strategies, large-scale genetic studies involving gene-expression analysis are required and reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is the most commonly used method.

Entomotherapy: a study of medicinal insects of seven ethnic groups in Nagaland, North-East India.

Background: The ethnic communities in Nagaland have kept a close relationship with nature since time immemorial and have traditionally used different kinds of insects and their products as folk medicine to treat a variety of human ills and diseases. The present study was conducted to record the entomotherapeutic practices of seven different ethnic groups of Nagaland.

Method: Documentation is based on semi-structured questionnaires and group discussions with a total of 370 informants.

Observations on How People in Two Locations of the Plateau Département of Southeast Benin Perceive Entomophagy: A Study From West Africa.

We surveyed the local populations of Kétou and Pobè in Southeast Benin through interviews and with the aid of a semi-structured questionnaire in order to understand how they currently perceive entomophagy, an age-old tradition in their communities. The study revealed that the majority of the population was familiar with the use of insects as food, and a sizable number of people were still interested in insect consumption. Gender differences were not apparent.

Chemical Composition and Nutritional Value of Different Species of Hornets.

We genetically identified three different species of hornets and analyzed the nutrient compositions of their edible brood. Samples were collected from a commercial production unit in Shizong province of China and from forests near Andong City in Korea. The species were identified as , , and from China and from Korea.

First Report of Necrophilia in the Form of Necrocoitus among Insects, Involving Two Male (Fabricius, 1775) Cicadas.

The unusual case of a male cicada from China attempting to mate with a dead male conspecific is described and illustrated. Although hitherto unreported, necrophilic behaviour in the form of an attempted necrocoitus, involving dead male or female corpses, may not be as isolated a case as has been previously assumed, but it does not seem to have been mentioned earlier in the entomological literature. Although the described behaviour could have been an expression of a lack of opportunity to locate a cooperative female, several other possibilities, referred to in the Discussion, exist and should not be dismissed.

Insects Used as Food and Feed: Isn't That What We All Need?

This Special Issue of explores different aspects of how insects can be used as a novel resource for food and feed. Some contributions deal with questions of acceptability and legality, others tackle problems related to innovative techniques in processing and marketing food, and yet another group of papers highlights the use of insects and their bio-active products in the context of promoting human health. The collective aim of the contributions by the researchers from at least 20 countries is to examine whether the use of insects-be it for food, feed, or therapeutic purposes-has a future.

Squid sucker teeth and cocoons of a terrestrial flatworm: amino acid content of two nano-structurally identical tissues in phylogenetically unrelated taxa.

An extraordinary micro-structural similarity between squid sucker teeth and the egg shell of a terrestrial planarian worm has been reported, but to date only the amino acid content of the squid sucker tooth has been available. This prompted us to analyse the amino acid content of the planarian egg shell. Although both share an absence of detectable chitin and metal ions and both possess relatively high amounts of the amino acids GLY and HIS, the planarian egg shell is considerably richer in GLU, LYS and ASP.

Tangsa and Wancho of North-East India Use Animals not only as Food and Medicine but also as Additional Cultural Attributes.

Cultural and ritual uses of animals beyond those for food and medicine should not be dismissed if we wish to understand the pressure that wildlife is under. We documented such uses for the Tangsa and Wancho tribals of Eastern Arunachal Pradesh (India). Group discussions with assembled members of 10 accessible villages in each of the tribal areas were carried out in 2015 and 2016.

Nutritional Composition of Drones from Korea and Denmark as a Potential Sustainable Alternative Food Source: Comparison Between Developmental Stages.

We compared nutrient compositions of honey bee ( drones of different developmental stages from two different populations-the Italian honey bee reared in Korea and Buckfast bees from Denmark. Analyses included amino acid, fatty acid, and mineral content as well as evaluations of antioxidant properties and haemolysis activities. The compositions of total amino acids, and thus protein content of the insects, increased with development.