Entomophagy is an ancient and actually African tradition that has been receiving renewed attention since edible insects have been identified as one of the solutions to improve global nutrition. As any other foodstuff, insects should be regulated by the government to ensure product quality and consumer safety. The goal of the present paper was to assess the current legal status of edible insects in Africa. For that, corresponding authorities were contacted along with an extensive online search, relying mostly on the FAOLEX database. Except for Botswana, insects are not mentioned in national regulations, although the definitions for “foodstuff” allow their inclusion, i.e., general food law can also apply to insects. Contacted authorities tolerated entomophagy, even though no legal base existed. However, insects typically appear in laws pertaining the use of natural resources, making a permit necessary (in most cases). Pest management regulation can also refer to edible species, e.g., locusts or weevils. Farming is an option that should be assessed carefully. All this creates a complex, nation-specific situation regarding which insect may be used legally to what purpose. Recommendations for elements in future insect-related regulations from the food hygiene point of view are provided.

The historic records of ants from Benin enumerate only 22 species. Our collections, with a primary focus on the mango farm ecosystem, Mangifera indica, have brought this total to 133 species of which only six were recorded before. The Benin specimens for all but six species have been checked against type images on Antweb.org. Twenty species have been recognised as distinct and raised to species status, with explanatory notes. Four species appear to be new but will be described elsewhere.

Insect farming is gaining momentum for its potential to strengthen food security and the sustainability of food systems. However, how rearing conditions shape the overall quality of edible insects remains poorly understood. Optimization strategies are suggested on the basis of this critical review, which synthesizes 96 studies, selected from 866 database records and supplemented by citation searching, on the effects of rearing systems and genetic, nutritional, and medicinal properties of edible insects. At least 41 species are farmed under conventional, semi-intensive, or intensive systems, and their quality behaves as a plastic rather than intrinsic trait, modulated by nutritional, environmental, husbandry-related, and biological factors acting on both phenotype (plasticity, epigenetic regulation) and genotype (drift, inbreeding, selection). Reported effects are substantial. For instance, in Tenebrio molitor, crude protein falls from 64.3 to 54.4 g/100 g dry matter as temperature rises from 22 to 28 °C, lipid content peaks at 47.4% at 31 °C, and artificial selection has raised larval weight by up to 39% within 16 generations. Conventional and semi-intensive systems show high batch-to-batch and seasonal variability, whereas intensive systems deliver more stable, standardized production at higher cost and lower consumer acceptability. Genetic selection emerges as a promising but underexploited lever, although conclusions remain qualified by study heterogeneity.