Investigation of the usefulness of two-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) feed using two-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus) powder to replace fishmeal

Crickets are being reevaluated as food and livestock feed due to their high nutritional value and low environmental impact during production, as food waste can be used as feed. On the other hand, current cricket production uses feed used in aquaculture and poultry farming, and these feeds contain animal proteins such as fish meal and chicken meal. This is simply converting other animal proteins into insect proteins. Therefore, this study aimed to test whether two-spotted cricket powder can be used as a substitute for fishmeal in diets for Gryllus bimaculatus production. Cricket weight, feed efficiency, and number of crickets were evaluated by feeding rice bran: cricket powder = 85:15 and rice bran: fish meal = 85:15, respectively, referring to the feed mix ratio used by cricket producers. Results showed no statistically significant differences between the two experiments in cricket weight and feed conversion ratio. When data were obtained separately for each growth phase, cricket weight was found to be highest in the fourth post-hatching week for the diet with cricket powder and then decreased (initial input: 1 g; 28 days: 89.45 ± 22.19 g; 35 days: 49.47 ± 14.11 g). Feed conversion efficiency was found to be higher in the second half of growth (1-7 days: 0.48; 23-28 days: 0.80). The use of insect powder as bait for crickets is a new proposal. In cricket production, adults with low reproductive capacity are packaged and sold as food or livestock feed, but by using insect powder as feed during cricket production, it is possible to reduce animal protein in the feed. In the future, we plan to investigate the usefulness of mass-produced insect powder as feed for crickets.