Nutritional and chemical composition of different life stages of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst)

Abstract

Tribolium castaneum can survive in extremely dry environments and be one of the major insect pests of broken and processed grains or other stored dried foods. Additionally, this species has demonstrated resistance to some classes of insecticides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the nutritional and chemical composition of T. castaneum, reared on maize flour, and compare protein, lipids and fatty acids profile, amino acids and mineral contents, of different developmental stages: larvae, pupae and adults. In general all stages were rich in protein (15.3% for larvae and 17.0% for adults, wet body weight).Disparities among developmental stages regarding amino acids and fatty acids content were found. Essential amino acids were most abundant in T. castaneum; a different essential amino acid was prevalent on each developmental stage: larvae -valine; pupae -lysine; adults -histidine. Tribolium castaneum is rich in phosphorus, potassium and sulphur; larvae had a significantly higher content of phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and zinc, while adults showed significantly lower content of potassium and zinc. Larvae and pupae showed higher values of SFA (heptadecanoic and stearic acid) and PUFA (α-linolenic and linolenic acids), while MUFA showed the reverse tendency, with adults having the highest contents of hypogeic, palmitoleic and oleic acids. The nutritional differences among different developmental stages identified are due to specificities of each stage (level of chitinization, motility, energy requirements and food intake habits), as the diet offered to the insects was the same. This study can thus be considered a first step towards future directions of investigation, to a better understanding of this pest nutritional preferences and alternatives to achieve a more sustainable management of infested stored products.

Systematic review and meta‐analysis of production performance of aquaculture species fed dietary insect meals

“…larvae, prepupa, adult) and degree of the defatted process (full‐fat, partial defat and defat), presence of chitin, among others. These forms of insect meals could cause a substantial discrepancy in nutritional compositions between and within insect meal(s), which subsequently have a significant impact on nutrient digestibility and growth performance of examined organisms 15,24–27 . Therefore, findings from the past systematic reviews could remain ambiguous or lead to a different interpretation when evaluating a specific type of insect meal.…”

A Novel Strategy for the Production of Edible Insects: Effect of Dietary Perilla Seed Supplementation on Nutritional Composition, Growth Performance, Lipid Metabolism, and Δ6 Desaturase Gene Expression of Sago Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) Larvae

“…SPWL fed with the PI and PI with 3% PS-mixed diets had the greatest protein content ( p < 0.05), which was 20% higher than SPWL fed the PF diet. Compared to other insects, SPWL had a greater protein content than Tribolium castaneum (15.3–17.0 g/100), Imbrasia epimethea (20.1 g/100 g), and Imbrasia truncate (19.1 g/100 g) [ 21 , 22 ]. However, the protein of the SPWL was lower than that of Allomyrina dichotoma (54.2 g/100 g), Tenebrio molitor (53.2 g/100 g), Protaetia brevitarsis (44.2 g/100 g), Zophobas morio (46.8 g/100 g), Gryllus assimilis (65.52 g/100 g), Ruspolia differens (44.3 g/100 g), and Periplaneta americana (49.4 g/100 g) [ 1 , 23 , 24 ].…”

“…This finding may be related to the reduction of Mn availability caused by dietary factors, specifically the lower total concentration of Mn in the experimental diet affected by the dilution of GSPT content in the supplemental-added diets. The Mn in this current SPWL was higher than Tribolium castaneum (4.9 mg/kg) [ 21 ], but lower than Allomyrina dichotoma (86.4 mg/kg), and Protaetia brevitarsis (58.9 mg/kg) [ 23 ]. The Cu content of SPWL ranged from 10.2–26.1 mg/kg ( Table 5 ).…”

The Effect of Temperature and Nutrient on Developmental Biology and Physiology of Stored-Product Species of Coleoptera

“…Alanine, proline, methionine, leucine, threonine and valine in males, alanine, cystine, proline, leucine and valine in females, alanine, proline and leucine in eggs, proline, leucine and valine in larvae, and proline, leucine, phenylalanine and valine in pupae were found.Isoleucine not detected at any developmental stage [67]. Duarte et al [68] determined that…”