Lake flies in Lake Victoria: their biomass and potential for use in animal feeds
Okedi, J.
Insects exhibiting swarming habits in Lake Victoria include mainly the Chironomidae, the Chaoboridae and Povilia adusta (Ephemeroptera). Their early life cycles are spent in the lake as benthos and standard bathymetric procedures were undertaken to estimate the standing crop biomass or the larvae in Murchison Bay. Povilla was principally a boring invertebrate preferring dried logs (113 g Povilla nymphs per kg or host plant material). Cyperus papyrus carried 5 g C. denudatus 2.5 g and Phragmites mauritanus 1.0 g of Povilla per kg of host plant material. Povilla also occurred in the benthos at 40 g/m2. The Chironomidae and Chaoboridae had a mean standing crop biomass or 80 g/m2 and 3 g/m2 respectively. Their total biomass for the bay was estimated at 16060 metric tonnes for the Chironomidae, 7920 m. t. for Povilla and 660 m.t. for the Chaoborids. Adult swarming habits of the lakefly were closely correlated with lunar phases and the adults were easily trapped at night using kerosene lamps. Biochemical tests of the nutrient value or lakefly showed high levels of protein content (62%), minerals (18%), a low fat content (3.9%) and low moisture content (9%). This makes the lakefly ideal as an additive in animal feeds and growth experiments with poultry and aquaculture fish are currently going on to test the suitability of lakefly as an ingredient in animal feeds.
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