ECOLOGY AND NUTRITIVE VALUE OF THREE ABUNDANT TERMITE SPECIES IN WESTERN KENYA FOR ENTOMOPHAGY (Isoptera: Termitidea)

Abstract

Winged social insects known as termites have existed on the planet for more than 100 million years. Food insecurity is a serious endemic issue in Kenya. In Western part of the Kenya, termite alates have a long history of use as food but little has been done to improve mass production. The main goal of this research was to establish if Pseudocanthotermes grandiceps , Macrotermes jeanelli and Allodontermes tenax are capable of being produced in large quantities as a solution to both food security and climate change by:1) Determining factors affecting swarming behavior of P. grandiceps , M. jeanelli and A. tenax.2) Compare the amino acid profiles of P.grandiceps, M. jeanelli and A. tenax, 3) Determine survival rates during laboratory study of P.grandiceps, M. jeanelli and A. tenax and 4) Determine food preference during laboratory study of P.grandiceps, M. jeanelli and A. tenax. Since biotic and abiotic factors affect termite alate swarming behaviour, these factors are critical in making swarming inducement decisions. Termites of all the three species have been observed swarming during the rainy season, but traditionally, A.tenax has been induced to swarm during the dry season. The three species investigated would aid nutritionists in deciding which termite species are most appropriate for human consumption. In order to determine the best substrate for mass production, it was necessary to evaluate different food substrates. Finally, when it comes to setting up procedures for mass production, swarming quantity is critical. The decision on the right species for mass production depend on the quantities collected during the normal swarming periods as it is uneconomical to raise the termites artificially then eventually collect so little alates after swarming. All abiotic factors affecting the swarming behaviour of the termite alates were recorded daily and at the time of swarming. Amino acid proximate composition was performed using the protocols described in AOAC (2000). Several food substrates were evaluated in a dark room at a steady temperature of 24±2 ºC and humidity of 80±5%. The samples were removed from the rearing chamber after 2, 4, and 6 weeks, and the remaining termites was counted. The number of surviving termite workers found from each treatment was used to calculate the survival rate. For swarming quantities three active termite mounds were identified for each species and then they were monitored for a period of one year for emergence of termite alates around Kitale area and west Pokot -Nasukuta livestock farm. The termite alates were collected using traditional methods. The quantity of alates from each mound was weighed in kilograms and recorded for each species. The mean weight of the three samples for every species was then determined. ANOVA was used to analyse the data, and the significance level was set at 0.05. Means±SE were separated by Fishers least significance difference (LSD) test. The statistical analysis software SAS 9.1 Copyright (c) 2002-2003 by SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina, USA, was used to do all calculations. Tables, bar graphs, and pie charts were used to illustrate the results after analysis. Results show that the best termite species for mass production is A. tenax since it can be induced to swarm during the dry season and its worker caste showed a higher survival rate during laboratory study. The three termite species were found to have the required essential and nonessential amino acids enough to supply all human age groups except in infants who have a higher protein requirement. The most preferred food item that increased survival rates of the three species was wheat straw. While the least preferred was pine wood in all the three species. Food preference and survival rates were highly dependent on the locality in which the termite species was found in abundance. Hence there is need for further studies to rear the species and hence increase chances for inducement. Secondly more studies are required to determine consumer acceptance especially in communities who do not consume termites as food and finally more studies are required to package them as value chain to the food items locally available in the areas where the termite species are found in abundance