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7 May 2022 Growth and Reproductive Performance of Edible Grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) on Different Artificial Diets
Geoffrey M. Malinga, Amos Acur, Patrick Ocen, Sille Holm, Karlmax Rutaro, Stephen Ochaya, John N. Kinyuru, Jørgen Eilenberg, Nanna Roos, Anu Valtonen, Philip Nyeko, Heikki Roininen
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Abstract

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.

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.
Geoffrey M. Malinga, Amos Acur, Patrick Ocen, Sille Holm, Karlmax Rutaro, Stephen Ochaya, John N. Kinyuru, Jørgen Eilenberg, Nanna Roos, Anu Valtonen, Philip Nyeko, and Heikki Roininen "Growth and Reproductive Performance of Edible Grasshopper (Ruspolia differens) on Different Artificial Diets," Journal of Economic Entomology 115(3), 724-730, (7 May 2022). https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toac053
Received: 22 October 2021; Accepted: 28 March 2022; Published: 7 May 2022
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KEYWORDS
edible bush-cricket
feeding
growth
insect farming
Ruspolia rearing
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