Department of Biology, Gulu University, P.O. Box 166, Gulu, Uganda.
Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, 80101 Joensuu, Finland.
J Econ Entomol. 2022 Jun 8;115(3):724-730. doi: 10.1093/jee/toac053.
Ruspolia differens (Serville) (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), also known as the 'edible grasshopper', 'African edible bush-cricket', and 'nsenene', is regarded as one of the most promising edible insect species that can be used for food, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, there is insufficient information on suitable diets and their effects on survival, adult weight, fecundity, and developmental time of this species, which are preconditions for large-scale production. In this study, we experimentally evaluated the effects of 12 diets (wheat bran, rice seed head, finger millet seed head, soya bran, maize bran, fresh maize comb, millet flour, chicken feed egg booster, simsim cake, sorghum seed head, powdered groundnut, and germinated finger millet), that are known to be accepted by R. differens, on their growth and reproductive parameters. The survival rate, developmental time, and adult weight varied considerably on the various diets. The highest nymphal survival rates, shortest development times, and highest adult weights were recorded for both sexes when fed fresh maize comb and germinated finger millet diet. Lifetime fecundity of females fed on germinated finger millet also was, on average, more than twice higher compared to other diets. The present study demonstrated that relatively inexpensive and locally available germinated finger millet, fresh maize seed (at the silking stage on the comb), sorghum seedhead, and finger millet seedhead could be successfully used to rear and sustain populations of R. differens. Our findings contribute to the future design of an effective mass-rearing system for this economically important edible insect.
变色东亚飞蝗（Ruspolia differens (Serville)）（直翅目：螽斯科），俗称“食用蝗虫”、“非洲食用灌木蟋蟀”和“nsenene”，被认为是最有前途的食用昆虫物种之一，可作为食物，特别是在撒哈拉以南非洲地区。然而，关于该物种适宜的饮食及其对生存、成虫体重、繁殖力和发育时间的影响的信息不足，而这些是大规模生产的前提条件。在这项研究中，我们通过实验评估了 12 种饮食（麦麸、水稻穗头、小米穗头、大豆皮、玉米麸、新鲜玉米穗、小米粉、鸡饲料蛋增强剂、芝麻饼、高粱穗头、花生粉和发芽的小米）对其生长和繁殖参数的影响。在不同的饮食中，存活率、发育时间和成虫体重差异很大。雄性和雌性的若虫存活率最高、发育时间最短、成虫体重最高，这两种情况都是在食用新鲜玉米穗和发芽的小米饮食时记录到的。喂食发芽的小米的雌性的终生繁殖力也平均比其他饮食高两倍以上。本研究表明，相对廉价且当地可获得的发芽的小米、新鲜玉米（在穗期的须期）、高粱穗头和小米穗头可以成功地用于饲养和维持变色东亚飞蝗的种群。我们的研究结果为未来设计这种具有经济重要性的食用昆虫的有效大规模饲养系统做出了贡献。
