Response of larvae of Cirina forda Westwood (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) to spatio-temporal variation in the nutritional content of foliage of Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn. f. (Sapotaceae) J. A. ODEBIYI , A. A. OMOLOYE* , S. O. BADA, R. O. AWODOYIN & P. I. ONI (J. A. O., A. A. O. & R. O. A.: Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Ibadan, Nigeria; S. O. B.: Department of Forest Resources Management, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria; P. I. O.: Bells University of Technology, Ota. Ogun State, Nigeria) *Corresponding author; E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected] ABSTRACT RÉSUMÉ Cirina forda, an economically important edible folivore ODEBIYI, J. A., OMOLOYE, A. A., BADA, S. O., AWODOYIN, R. O. of Vitellaria paradoxa in the moist and dry woodland & ONI, P. I. : La reaction de larves de Cirina forda savanna ecosystems of Nigeria, has become ecologically Westwood (Lepidoptera : Saturniidae) à la variation restricted to the upper dry woodland savanna ecozone. spatio-temporelle dans la teneur nutritive de foliation The larvae of this insect are good source of protein for de Vitellaria paradoxa Gaertn. f. (Sapotaceae). Cirina human and livestock consumption and income. forda, folivore comestible de Vitellaria paradoxa qui However, little information is available on the bioecology est économiquement important, dans l’écosystème de of the insect to facilitate mass production. The study la savane boisée, humide, et sèche du Nigéria est devenu investigated, therefore, the emergence pattern and the écologiquement restreint à la haute écozone de la savane physiological responses of the larval stages of the pest boisée sèche.