A Literature Review of the Use of Weeds and Agricultural and Food Industry By-Products to Feed Farmed Crickets (Insecta; Orthoptera; Gryllidae)

Abstract

Global socioeconomic systems exacerbate disparities that leave a disturbing proportion of the human population malnourished, making conventional food sources such as animal livestock unsustainable at global scales. Edible insects have the potential to solve both malnourishment and the unsustainability of conventional livestock agriculture. The sustainability and accessibility of farmed, edible insects, however, depends on their feed source. Future expansion of farming rests on developing locally available and affordable insect feeds. This article presents a literature review of studies which evaluate the performance of edible crickets (Orthoptera) in response to alternative feed sources such as weeds and the byproducts of agricultural and food industries. For each insect species evaluated, we analyze measurements of feed and insect performance, feed composition, effects of diet on cricket growth and survivorship, as well as other sources of performance differences. The aim of this review is to assess the current state of alternative feed research for farmed crickets and to provide guidelines for future studies on alternative feeds.

Production Performance and Nutrient Conversion Efficiency of Field Cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) in Mass-Rearing Conditions

“…Within the Orthoptera order, crickets are the most consumed insects across the globe [ 6 , 7 ]. Nowadays, there are many publications [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ] related to their nutritive values, properties for improving health, social benefits, and valuable roles in contributing to the economies of many countries and livelihoods.…”

“…The key difference between these two species of crickets is that G. bimaculatus stands out in terms of economic factors (e.g., market value and sustainable development (SDG 12)), while A. domesticus has a more acceptable taste (e.g., nutty and a flavor of umami) [ 4 ]. However, there were about double lower frequencies of all available reports when comparing G. bimaculatus with A. domesticus [ 8 ]. This would lead to lower information availability on G. bimaculatus production performance and related points of view, although more important for the economic impact scale [ 14 ].…”

“…This would lead to lower information availability on G. bimaculatus production performance and related points of view, although more important for the economic impact scale [ 14 ]. From the literature review of Kuo and Fisher [ 8 ], studies of farmed crickets (Insecta: Orthoptera: Gryllidae spp.) mostly concern insect species, treatment diets, feed measurements, insect measurements, and life stage and duration.…”

Innovative feedstocks for optimal mass production of the edible long-horned grasshopper, Ruspolia differens

“…Proteins and carbohydrates play a critical role in the development of insects ( Joern and Behmer 1997 ; Rho and Lee 2014 ; Roeder and Behmer 2014 ; Li et al, 2015 ). Higher crude protein content in diets yielded a shorter development time in crickets Scapsipedus icipe (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) and Acheta domesticus Linnaeus (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) ( Magara et al, 2019 ; Kuo and Fisher 2022 ), while high protein and carbohydrate content led to better growth and development rate in some grasshopper species ( Malinga et al, 2018 ). The extremely low content of sodium in Diet 1 (15 times lower than the other diets) and high content of MOLP compared to the other diets could have contributed to the prolonged development.…”

“…Such by-product feed for insects should meet the nutritional requirements, allowing for maximal weight gain, high feed efficiency, faster development, and high survival of target insects ( Sorjonen et al, 2020 ). Meanwhile, diets comprising purely agricultural by-products contribute a crude protein level of 24% and an average survival of 34% in crickets, and supplementation of agricultural by-products with conventional feed resulted in crude protein content of 23% and an average survival of 60% ( Kuo and Fisher, 2022 ). However, there is limited data on the use of agricultural by-products as a feed source for R. differens .…”