Traditional knowledge of invertebrates used for medicine and magical–religious purposes by traditional healers and indigenous populations in the Plateau Department, Republic of Benin

Table 3 The most important invertebrate used in traditional medicine in Plateau Department

Species	Most prescribed^a	Medical importance^b	Most expensive^c
Achatina achatina	29	7	45
Apis mellifera	5	2	1
Salticus spp.	4	-	-
Eudrilus eugeniae	4	3	-
Musca domestica	3	-	-
Formica spp.	2	-	-
Macrotermes bellicosus	2	-	-
Belonogaster juncea	2	-	-
Achaea catocaloides	2	1	-
Myrmeleon formicarius	1	-	-
Brachytrupes membranaceus	1	1	-
Periplaneta americana	-	1	-
Callinectes amnicola	-	-	2

^aNumber of the 80 surveyed traditional healers in which the invertebrate was the most prescribed
^bNumber of the 80 surveyed traditional healers for which the invertebrate was considered to be the most important medically
^cNumber of the 145 surveyed people (traditional healer, merchant of medicinal animals and households) for which the invertebrate was the most expensive

ISSN: 1746-4269