Comparative Study of the Use of Insect Meal from Spodoptera littoralis and Bactrocera zonata for Feeding Japanese Quail Chicks

Abstract

A transformation of current livestock production towards a more sustainable operation is crucial to face nutritional and environmental challenges. There is an urgent demand for more sustainable high-quality feed sources to reduce environmental costs. Insects pose a potential alternative since they can be reared sustainably on food and feed residues. Know-how in mass rearing already exists for insect species used in biological pest control, such as the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis and the peach fruit fly Bactrocera zonata. The impact of a replacement of 50% of soybean meal by S. littoralis and B. zonata meal, respectively, on seven-days-old Japanese quail chicks was investigated in feeding trials. Concomitantly, the chemical compositions of the two insect meals and soybean meal were determined and compared. It was observed that the insect meals had higher protein and fat contents, lower carbohydrate contents and contained more saturated fatty acids than soybean meal. They also had higher methionine, and S. littoralis had a higher lysine content. Feeding trials resulted in improved growth, feed performance parameters, carcass characteristics, and biochemical indices for both insect meals. Consequently, both insect meals represent a promising alternative to soy in the feed of Japanese quail chicks.

Effects of Traditional Processing Techniques on the Nutritional and Microbiological Quality of Four Edible Insect Species Used for Food and Feed in East Africa

“…Crude fibre levels were generally <10%, and lowest in R. differens. The crude fibre contents of R. differens, H. illucens, and S. littoralis corresponded well with those reported by other authors i.e., R differens: 1.8-2.7% [24]; H. illucens: 7% [4]; S. littoralis: 10.7% [25], whereas the levels determined in A. domesticus were about half the levels (14.9-22.1%) reported elsewhere [23]. Crude fibre also includes chitin and complex carbohydrates such as cellulose and lignin that might be present in the insects' gut [26], and therefore variability may arise depending on preparation processes such as the degutting, cleaning and removal of parts, or the inclusion of a starvation regime prior to harvesting [15].…”

“…Furthermore, the fat contents of H. illucens and A. domesticus were within the range reported by other researchers: 9.8-22.8% for A. domesticus [23] and 15-35% for H. illucens [4]. The fat contents of R. differens and S. littoralis were approximately half the levels reported elsewhere i.e., 42.2-54.3% for R. differens [24] and 33% for S. littoralis [25]. Means in the same column followed by the same capital letters, and means in the same row followed by the same small letters are not significantly different (p < 0.05; n = 3).…”

“…The protein content of S. littoralis was lower by a factor of 0.75 compared to the 51% reported by others [25]. The huge difference may be attributed to the substrates on which the caterpillars were reared, i.e., castor bean (Ricinus communis) leaves, which are richer in protein compared to black nightshade leaves (Solanum nigrum) in our case.…”

Diseases in edible insect rearing systems

“…The protein and carbohydrate contents are especially important for the immune response and survival of insects (Cotter et al, 2011;Ponton et al, 2020). Larvae of the Egyptian cotton ball armyworm Spodoptera littoralis (potential feed for quail chicks, (Sayed et al, 2019) challenged with a baculovirus, showed higher immune response and survival when fed on a diet with a high protein content relative to carbohydrate content (P:C ratio) (Lee et al, 2006). In the same study, a group of larvae were allowed to select among diets with varying P:C ratio after being challenged with the virus; those larvae who survived the infection showed a preference for the diet with higher P:C ratio, in comparison to control and dying larvae, suggesting a purposeful change in their feeding…”

Insect-Based Feed Ingredients for Aquaculture: A Case Study for Their Acceptance in Greece

“…This is particularly important for the European countries, with well-developed aquaculture industry, i.e., Norway, Spain, UK, France, Italy and Greece, since the reliance on fishmeal-based aquafeeds has greatly contributed to the increase in production cost. Apart from aquafeeds, the suitability of insect meals as ingredient of poultry diets has been documented by several studies [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], whereas it is believed that soon the EU will authorize the use of insects for the poultry and swine industry.…”