Oonincx Dennis G A B, van Broekhoven Sarah, van Huis Arnold, van Loon Joop J A
Laboratory of Entomology, Plant Sciences Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2015 Dec 23;10(12):e0144601. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144601. eCollection 2015.
A large part of the environmental impact of animal production systems is due to the production of feed. Insects are suggested to efficiently convert feed to body mass and might therefore form a more sustainable food and/or feed source. Four diets were composed from by-products of food manufacturing and formulated such as to vary in protein and fat content. These were offered to newly hatched Argentinean cockroaches, black soldier flies, yellow mealworms, and house crickets. The first two species are potentially interesting as a feed ingredient, while the latter two are considered edible for humans. Feed conversion efficiency, survival, development time, as well as chemical composition (nitrogen, phosphorus, and fatty acids), were determined. The Argentinean cockroaches and the black soldier flies converted feed more efficiently than yellow mealworms, and house crickets. The first two were also more efficient than conventional production animals. On three of the four diets yellow mealworms and house crickets had a feed conversion efficiency similar to pigs. Furthermore, on the most suitable diet, they converted their feed as efficiently as poultry, when corrected for edible portion. All four species had a higher nitrogen-efficiency than conventional production animals, when corrected for edible portion. Offering carrots to yellow mealworms increased dry matter- and nitrogen-efficiency and decreased development time. Diet affected survival in all species but black soldier flies, and development time was strongly influenced in all four species. The chemical composition of Argentinean cockroaches was highly variable between diets, for black soldier flies it remained similar. The investigated species can be considered efficient production animals when suitable diets are provided. Hence, they could form a sustainable alternative to conventional production animals as a source of feed or food.
动物生产系统对环境的影响很大一部分归因于饲料生产。昆虫被认为能有效地将饲料转化为体重，因此可能形成一种更具可持续性的食物和/或饲料来源。四种饲料由食品制造副产品组成，其配方使蛋白质和脂肪含量各不相同。这些饲料提供给新孵化的阿根廷蟑螂、黑水虻、黄粉虫和家蟋蟀。前两个物种作为饲料成分可能很有吸引力，而后两个物种被认为可供人类食用。测定了饲料转化效率、存活率、发育时间以及化学成分（氮、磷和脂肪酸）。阿根廷蟑螂和黑水虻比黄粉虫和家蟋蟀更有效地转化饲料。前两者也比传统生产动物更高效。在四种饲料中的三种上，黄粉虫和家蟋蟀的饲料转化效率与猪相似。此外，在最合适的饲料上，考虑到可食用部分后，它们转化饲料的效率与家禽相当。考虑到可食用部分后，所有四个物种的氮效率都高于传统生产动物。给黄粉虫提供胡萝卜可提高干物质和氮效率，并缩短发育时间。饲料影响了除黑水虻外所有物种的存活率，并且对所有四个物种的发育时间都有很大影响。阿根廷蟑螂的化学成分在不同饲料之间差异很大，而黑水虻的则保持相似。当提供合适的饲料时，所研究的物种可被视为高效的生产动物。因此，它们可以作为饲料或食物来源，成为传统生产动物的可持续替代品。
