Evaluation of various commodities for the development of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor

Abstract

evaluation of various commodities for the development of the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor christos i. Rumbos 1,2 , ioannis t. Karapanagiotidis 2 , eleni Mente 2 , pier psofakis 2 & christos G. Athanassiou 1* We evaluated the suitability of forty-four commodities (i.e., cereal flours and meals, non-flour, cereal commodities, legumes and various commodities of vegetative and animal origin) as oviposition and feeding substrates for the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor. Τen T. molitor adults were introduced in plastic vials containing 30 g of each commodity. At the end of the 1 week period, all adults were removed, and mortality was determined; then the vials were further incubated for additional 9 weeks. After this time, the vials were opened, and the larvae of each vial were separated from the feeding substrate, counted and weighed as a group. The efficiency of ingested food conversion was calculated for each substrate. finally, proximate composition was calculated to determine the nutrient components of the feeding substrates tested and the T. molitor larvae that fed on various selected substrates. in general, adult reproduction was clearly favoured by most amylaceous substrates tested, which was in contrast to the tested legumes on which fewer offspring were produced. Similar effects were observed for larval development. feeding on selected substrates exerted an impact on the nutrient composition of T. molitor larvae, with a high protein content of the substrate usually resulting in a high protein content of the larvae. Over the last few years, "insect farming" has attracted considerable scientific attention, as insects are considered an alternative and sustainable nutrient source for animal feed and human food 1-5. Among the most promising insect species for industrial utilization and commercial large-scale production is the yellow mealworm, Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). This species is one of the largest stored-product beetles (adult body length between 12 and 20 mm) that is commonly found infesting stored agricultural products 6. It is a cosmopolitan stored product insect pest that is found in various types of facilities and commodities, mainly grains and related amylaceous commodities, such as flour, bran and pasta 6. Nevertheless, there is strong interest in its utilization as a food source for humans and animals, including fish 1. This is because T. molitor larvae are highly nutritious with high protein and lipid contents 7,8. Because of their nutritional value, the larvae of T. molitor are commonly used as feed for pets (e.g., reptiles and birds) 9 , whereas they have been successfully evaluated as a feed ingredient in pig 10 and poultry diets 11,12 , as well as in artificial diets for the mass-rearing of beneficial organisms, such as the predatory lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata De Geer (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) 13. Recently, T. molitor was included in the list of insect species that are allowed to be used as ingredients in fish feeds in the EU 14 , whereas its exploitation f...

Rearing Tenebrio molitor and Alphitobius diaperinus Larvae on Seed Cleaning Process Byproducts

“…This indicates that, in contrast to what it is commonly believed that high-protein diets result in greater insect growth [ 30 ], other nutritional factors, such as fat content, amino acid profile, vitamins and minerals, may also substantially affect insect growth and development. This finding is in accordance with the results of a previous study, which evaluated the suitability of a number of cereal and legume commodities for T. molitor rearing [ 31 ]. In that study, larval growth did not always correlate well with the protein content of the commodity, indicating that the high protein content of a substrate, although important, does not always ensure increased larval growth, nor the opposite.…”

Development of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on Poultry Litter-Based Diets: Effect on Chemical Composition of Larvae

“…Whereas all diets were accepted by the T. molitor , development times were not affected by poultry litter, the same was true for survival rate. Diet plays an important role for insect growth and performance; therefore, the development of an effective artificial diet has been identified as a crucial component of insect-producing systems, such as the mass production of beneficial arthropods in general ( Chen et al 2014 , Morales-Ramos et al 2014 , Huynh et al 2019 , Rumbos et al 2020 ). In the case of T. molitor , considerable effort has been focused on the development of artificial diets that would maximize the biomass production of highly nutritious larvae, with a concomitant reduction in their developmental time as well as low-cost diet.…”

“…Different ingredients can be used to compose the diet of T. molitor , since the diets that contain a mixture of various ingredients could potentially be relatively more nutritionally balanced to attend the nutritional requirements of insects ( Rumbos et al 2020 ). Thus, mixtures of poultry litter with the control diet in different proportions allow us to determine the best combinations of these components ( Sheppard et al 1994 , Leek 2016 ).…”

Possibilities of the Development of Edible Insect-Based Foods in Europe

“…The life of the mealworm beetle comprises four stages: the egg (hatching after 3–9 days), larva (from 1 to 8 months), pupa (from 5 to 28 days), and the adult form (2–3 months). They tend to gather in warehouses where they attack and damage agricultural products stored there, mainly cereals and related products (flour, bran and pasta) [ 64 , 65 ].…”