DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2v6wwq01z
title: Data from: Nutrient landscape of a cricket nymph: How dietary protein and carbohydrate shape intake, performance, and body composition in the two-spotted cricket, <em>Gryllus bimaculatus</em>

description: Understanding the optimal amount and balance of macronutrients required by
 individual insects is a critical prerequisite for enhancing the yield and
 value of insects used as food and feed. Crickets are amongst the most
 widely produced edible insects worldwide. Thus, there is a growing need
 for determining the dietary formulations that optimize survival, growth,
 intake, food conversion, and body composition in cricket nymphs. Here, we
 applied nutrient landscape approach to examine the combined and
 interactive effects of dietary protein and carbohydrate on a suite of
 nutritional traits in the eight-instar nymphs of two-spotted cricket,
 Gryllus bimaculatus, confined to one of 24 chemically defined diets that
 varied in protein-to-carbohydrate (P:C = 5:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:5, 1:8)
 ratios and protein plus carbohydrate concentrations (P + C = 21, 42, 63,
 84%). Food consumption increased with nutrient dilution but this
 compensatory feeding was incomplete. Food utilization efficiency was
 maximized on nutritionally concentrated diets with a moderately
 carbohydrate-biased P:C ratio of 1:1.278. All performance traits were the
 highest on nutritionally concentrated diets, but at different P:C ratios.
 Cricket nymphs survived best at a highly protein-biased P:C ratio of
 3.861:1. Both body mass at adult eclosion and relative growth rates (RGR)
 were maximized at carbohydrate-skewed P:C ratios of 1:1.473 and 1:1.470,
 respectively. When offered a food choice, nymphs self-selected a P:C ratio
 of 1:1.82, which aligned with the P:C ratios that maximized body mass and
 RGR. Body composition varied substantially according to dietary protein
 and carbohydrate, with body protein and lipid content being maximized at
 the P:C ratio of 1.140:1 and 1:5.562, respectively. Our results have
 implications for enhancing the rearing conditions of cricket farming
 through diet optimization.
description: # Data from: Nutrient landscape of a cricket nymph: How dietary protein
 and carbohydrate shape intake, performance, and body composition in the
 two-spotted cricket, *Gryllus bimaculatus* Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.2v6wwq01z](10.5061/dryad.2v6wwq01z) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The first two columns show the dietary treatments,
 which vary from 21–84% total macronutrient concentrations and cover
 protein-to-carbohydrate ratios ranging from 5:1 to 1:8. The next column
 indicates the sex of the experimental animal. The remaining columns
 present the measured traits, as described in the column headers. The
 formulas of ECI (efficiency of food conversion) and RGR (relative growth
 rate) are available in main article. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Kwon_and_Lee_Raw_dataset_for_PE.xlsx **Description:**  ##### Variables *
 independent variables: the columns named "Protein%",
 "CHO%", "sex" * Protein %: the protein concentration
 of the diet (g/100g of dry mass of the diet) * CHO %: the carbohydrate
 concentration of the diet (g/100g of dry mass of the diet) * sex: the sex
 of the experimental animal. "f" and "m" represented
 female and male, respectively * dependent variables: all remaining
 columns  * initial dry body mass (mg): the estimated dry body mass of the
 experimental animal at the start of the experiment * food intake (mg): the
 eaten amount of the assigned food * macronutrient intake (mg): the eaten
 amount of protein + carbohydrate, which was calculated by multiplying the
 macronutrient concentration (P % +CHO %) and food intake * ECI (%):
 efficiency of food conversion index. The formula is (100*dry body mass
 gain/macronutrient intake) * developmental time (day): the duration for
 the final instar stage * adult dry body mass (mg): the measured body mass
 when the experimental animal emerged into the adult stage * RGR: relative
 growth rate. the formula is (Ln(adult dry body mass/initial dry body
 mass)/developmental time) * protein content (mg): the protein content
 measured at the end of the experiment * lipid content (mg): the lipid
 content measured at the end of the experiment