Shahida Anusha Siddiqui, Deepak Kumar Mahanta, Tanmaya Kumar Bhoi, Ali Ahmad, Ito Fernando
This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. Post-publication, an investigation conducted on behalf of the journal by Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team, identified concerns around the genuine collaboration among the listed authors. When requested to provide evidence of their collaborative efforts, the authors, led by Shahida Anusha Siddiqui, were unable to provide convincing proof. This has cast significant doubt on the integrity of the authorship. In addition, Elsevier's Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics team also found that the authors have plagiarized part of a book chapter that had already appeared in: Kwiri, R., Mujuru, F.M., Gwala, W. (2020). Nutrient Composition and Bioactive Components of Mopane Worm (Gonimbrasia belina). In: Adam Mariod, A. (eds) African Edible Insects As Alternative Source of Food, Oil, Protein and Bioactive Components. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32952-5_17 The amount of content that was copied and paraphrased to evade detection was quite substantial. Examples of the similarities are provided below. Original: Mopane worms are collected from both the ground and from trees, usually the fifth instar stage, and the last stage before pupation. Plagiarism (paraphrased): The fifth instar stage, or the last stage before pupation, is the most common time of year to gather mopane worms, which may be found on the ground or in trees. Original: Harvesters check for waste products below large trees to identify the caterpillar’s presence. The rural harvesters generally harvest mature mopane worms when they start crawling down the trees, but during the December and January outbreak, it is not possible as there is not enough worms and the tendency is to collect the worms prematurely. Plagiarism (paraphrased): In order to determine the existence of the caterpillar, harvesters look for droppings near the base of huge trees. Harvesters in the countryside usually gather adult mopane worms as they begin to descend from the trees (Fig. 2), but this is impossible during the epidemic in December to January since there just aren’t enough worms to go around. Original: Mature mopane worms ready for picking are identified as being tough and having well-pronounced spikes. Plagiarism (paraphrased): Mopane worms that are ready to be harvested are distinguished by their sturdiness and the prominence of their spikes. Original: It has been reported that, when fully grown, larvae have relatively empty guts and their bodies are filled with a “yellow nutritive material”. Conventionally, to remove frass from the guts, the larvae are squeezed by placing them between the thumb and forefinger. The pressure during squeezing is adjusted depending on the size of the larvae and the presence of undigested material. Plagiarism (paraphrased): A "yellow nutritive material" fills the bodies of mature larvae, despite the fact that their guts are said to be relatively empty. Traditionally, the larvae are compressed by being placed between the fingers and thumbs in order to eliminate frass from the intestines. The pressure used when pressing is changed based on the dimension of the worms and whether or not there is still food in them. Although the chapter was cited multiple times, the amount of duplicated content was excessive and constitutes plagiarism. Citation does not justify the extensive copying and paraphrasing. Overall, given the concerns regarding the authenticity of the authorship and the extent of paraphrased plagiarism, the editor has lost confidence in the integrity of the article and has concluded that it should be retracted. Apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process. © 2025 The Authors.
Independent Researcher, Germany; Forest Entomology Discipline, Forest Protection Division, ICFRE-Forest Research Institute (ICFRE-FRI) Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India; Forest Protection Division, ICFRE-Arid Forest Research Institute (ICFRE-AFRI) Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India; University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitatssträße 2, Essen, 45141, Germany; Department of Plant Pests and Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Brawijaya, East Java, Malang, 65145, Indonesia
