Diversity and Use of Edible Grasshoppers, Locusts, Crickets, and Katydids (Orthoptera) in Madagascar.

Madagascar has a long history of using Orthoptera as food and feed. Our understanding of the biological diversity of this resource, its contemporary use, and its future potentials in Madagascar is extremely limited. The present study contributes basic knowledge of the biological diversity and local uses of edible Orthoptera in Malagasy food cultures. Data was collected with key informants in 47 localities covering most of the ecoregions of Madagascar and corresponding to 12 of the 19 ethnic groups. Orthoptera are consumed throughout Madagascar. We report 37 edible Orthoptera species, of which 28 are new species records of edible Orthoptera in Madagascar and 24 are new species records of edible Orthoptera in the world. Most species are endemic and occur in farming zones. Children are the primary collectors and consumers of edible Orthoptera. The insects are eaten both as snacks and main meals. Edible Orthoptera are primarily collected casually and marketing is rare, with the notable exceptions of the large cricket Brachytrupes membranaceus colosseus and during locust outbreaks (e.g., Locusta migratoria). The use of Orthoptera as feed seems rare. Further investigations of cultural and personal preferences are required to assess the future potential roles of Orthoptera in Malagasy food habits.

Parasitism by Nycteribiidae and Streblidae Flies (Diptera) of a Malagasy Fruit Bat (Pteropodidae): Effects of Body Size and Throat Gland Development on Parasite Abundance.

We examined the possible effects of host body size and throat gland development on the abundance of blood-feeding nycteribiid and streblid flies parasitizing a Malagasy fruit bat, Rousettus madagascariensis G. Grandidier, 1928. Data were collected in the Parc National d'Ankarana in northern Madagascar during four visits: September 2014, 2015 (dry season), and January 2015, 2016 (wet season). Two bat fly species were identified, Eucampsipoda madagascarensis Theodor, 1955 (Nycteribiidae) and Megastrebla wenzeli (Jobling, 1952) (Streblidae). A positive correlation was found between host body size and abundance of E. madagascarensis during the four visits, suggesting that larger hosts have more parasites, and for M. wenzeli, this relationship was identified only during the wet season visits. In male hosts, body size and throat gland development are correlated with variation in E. madagascarensis abundance during the two seasons; this relationship was not found for M. wenzeli. We present some explanations for the observed patterns of bat fly abundance associated with throat gland development: increased vascularization and easier access to bloodmeals, chemical properties of gland secretions acting as attractants or perhaps being consumed, and modification of hair around the gland providing protection from bat grooming.