Growth performance and nutritional profile of Tenebrio molitor raised on a diet composed of livestock feedstuff

Abstract

Edible insects such as the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) are emerging as an alternative animal protein resource to meet the needs of a growing global population. However, despite the successful mass production of edible insects, research into practical compound feed for edible insect is still insufficient. In this study, mealworms were fed wheat bran, layer chicken feed mash, chicken pellets and cattle pellets for 1 to 36 days, after which their body length was measured. In the groups fed with chicken feed mash, chicken pellets or cattle pellets, the mean body lengths were 2.88, 2.92 and 2.95 cm, respectively, similar to the 2.95 cm of the control T. molitor fed with wheat bran. Individual weight measurements yielded similar results: control, 7.87 g; chicken feed mash, 7.43 g; chicken pellets, 7.60 g; and cattle pellets, 7.63 g. Analysis of livestock feed intake showed that the intake was 290.4 g in control insects, 137.7 g in insects fed chicken feed mash, 220.2 g in insects fed chicken pellets and 230.3 g in insects fed cattle pellets. In the excretion analysis, the excretion of the control insects (161.60 g) was larger than that of the insects fed with chicken feed mash (93.37 g), chicken pellets (93.40 g) or cattle pellets (133.87 g). An analysis of the nutritional content of T. molitor based on nine major nutrients showed no significant differences between the control and the test groups. These results can be used to improve the price competitiveness and quality of T. molitor for commercial development.