Effects of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal in the diets of grower-finishing guinea fowls reared under tropical conditions.

The study was conducted with the view to determine the impact of replacing fishmeal with black soldier fly larval meal (BSFLM) on growing guinea fowls. BSFLM replaced fishmeal (3% in the control diet) in the ratios of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% to produce six dietary treatments, which were iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous. Two hundred and forty-eight-week old guinea fowls with mean live weight of 273.2 ± 10.9 g were tagged, weighted, and randomly assigned to 24 (6 × 4) floor pens; each pen was treated as a replicate. Feed and water were provided ad libitum during the entire period, which lasted 10 weeks. Feed consumption differed among the treatment groups (P = 0.0072) with the 100% fishmeal diets recording the lowest. Daily gain was significantly (P = 0.009) higher for birds fed high BSFLM diets compared to the control (100% fishmeal diet). The inclusion of BSFLM in the diets elicited positive linear effect on weight gains of the guinea fowls (R2 = 0.91) with increasing concentration resulting in higher live weight gains. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) also differed between treatments (P < 0.05) but similar for the 100% fishmeal (control) and 100% BSFLM diets. Organ and haematopoitic integrity were equally assured regardless of levels of the protein sources fed to the birds. Generally, meats from birds fed 60 to 100% BSFLM and from hens were more acceptable. A study to evaluate the economics of utilising BSFLM in guinea fowl production is recommended.

Impact of black soldier fly larval meal on growth performance, apparent digestibility, haematological and blood chemistry indices of guinea fowl starter keets under tropical conditions.

In order to assess the impact of larval meal on guinea fowl, six iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets were fed to day-old-keets ad libitum till 8 weeks of age. Water was also freely provided. The fishmeal (FM) component of the experimental diets was replaced with black soldier fly larval meal (BSFLM) in the following percentage ratios of 0-100%. Results showed that body weight gain significantly (P < 0.05) increased in all the BSFLM treatment groups compared to the control group. The final body weight of the birds at age 8 weeks differed significantly (P < 0.001). Dry matter intake varied (P < 0.001) slightly among the birds but never affected (P > 0.05) ME intake and faecal output as well as weight changes of the keets. Digestibility of dry matter and energy were not affected (P > 0.05) by the differences in diet. Organ and haematopoietic integrity were assured regardless of the protein types used as well as levels of inclusion. The results suggest that the replacement of fishmeal with BSFLM in so far as the economics of production is concerned could result in reduced feed cost for starter guinea keet judging from diets that contained 60-100% BSFLM.

On the distribution and natural history of a rarely encountered species: Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili Zöller, Fiebig, & Schulze, 1995 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae).

Mudge et al. (2012) surveyed the Cetoniinae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of Ghana and recorded Goliathus (Fornasinius) higginsi Westwood, 1874, but no other species from this subgenus. We add the rare species Goliathus (Fornasinius) klingbeili Zöller, Fiebig, & Schulze, 1995 as a new country record for Ghana from the dense forests of the Volta and Eastern Regions. The species was previously reported as very rare in Togo (Zöller et al. 1995) in the northern dry part of the Bafilo Region. We record that the larvae develop in hyrax (Dendrohyrax dorsalis (Fraser, 1855) (Mammalia: Procaviidae) middens and can be locally common in this microhabitat. The purpose of this note is to record the new distributional and natural history data, discuss the taxonomy and bionomy of the subgenus Goliathus (Fornasinius) Bertoloni, 1852, and provide a key to species.

A new species of Charinus Simon, 1892 (Amblypygi, Charinidae) from termite nests in French Guiana.

The genus Charinus is represented by 51 species, distributed in all tropical regions. Their small size allows them to use a wide range of micro-habitats, from caves, litter to insect nests. The new species C. sillami sp. nov. was found into termite nests of three different species: Neocapritermes taracua, Spinitermes sp. and Embiratermes neotenicus. Only Paracharon caecus (Paleoamblypygi: Paracharontidae) was previously known to be associated with Isoptera. Eleven species of Charinus were previously known from Northern South America. Charinus sillami sp. nov. is the second species of the genus occurring in French Guiana. An updated key of Northern South-American species is provided.