Entomophagy (Insect Eating)

**ATTENTION: INSECTS CAN CAUSE ALLERGIC REACTIONS ON PEOPLE SENSITIVE TO SHELLFISH.**

## Entomophagy

This is a selection from the Wikipedia article on Entomophagy.
**Entomophagy** (from Greek ἔντομον *éntomon*, "insect", and φᾰγεῖν *phagein*, "to eat") is  the consumption of insects as food. The eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of certain insects have been eaten by humans from prehistoric times to the present day.

Human insect-eating is common to cultures in most parts of the world, including North, Central, and South America; and Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Over 1,000 species of insects are known to be eaten in 80% of the world's nations. The total number of ethnic groups recorded to practice entomophagy is around 3,000. However, in some societies insect-eating is uncommon or even taboo. Today insect eating is rare in the developed world, but insects remain a popular food in many regions of Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. FAO (a specialized agency of United Nations) has registered some 1900 edible insect species and estimates there were in 2005 some 2 billion insect consumers worldwide. They also suggest entomophagy should be considered as a solution to environmental pollution.

Some of the more popular insects and arachnids eaten around the world include crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers, ants, various beetle grubs (such as mealworms), the larvae of the darkling beetle or rhinoceros beetle, various species of caterpillar (such as bamboo worms, mopani worms, silkworms and waxworms), scorpions and tarantulas. Entomophagy is sometimes defined broadly to include the practice of eating arthropods that are not insects, such as arachnids (tarantulas mainly) and myriapods (centipedes mainly). There are 1,417 known species of arthropods, including arachnids, that are edible to humans. The term is not used for the consumption of other arthropods, specifically crustaceans like crabs, lobsters and shrimps.

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## Mealworms (*Tenebrio molitor*)

Commonly referred as mealworms, yellow mealworms, mealworm beetles, darkling beetles, and darkening beetles, *Tenebrio molitor* is an insect which is eaten in the larval stage.

This is the insect that we are currently (September 2017) farming in the warehouse. It's the easiest one to raise, demanding the less amount of resources, space and time. There is plenty of information about raising them on the Internet, as people have been farming them for reptile pet food for decades, and a bit more recently, for human food.

The following text have been selected from mealwormcare.org:

### Life Cycle

"Mealworms aren’t really worms. They are the larvae of darkling beetles. There are over 20,000 different types of darkling beetles and mealworms come from the species Tenebrio molitor.

A darkling beetle experiences complete metamorphosis which means that it has four distinct stages of life. The four stages are egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The amount of time a darkling beetle spends in each stage can vary greatly due to environmental factors like temperature, humidity, food, and water.

#### **Egg**

The first stage of life is spent as an egg. The white bean-shaped egg is tiny and about the size of a speck of dust. The egg is sticky and is quickly concealed by dirt, dust, and substrate. It will take around one to four weeks for an egg to hatch and the larva to emerge.

#### **Larvae**

The second stage of life lasts about eight to ten weeks and is spent as a brown larva. This is the stage where the insect is a mealworm. When first hatched, it is quite small but will grow to one to one and a half inches long. Since it has a hard exoskeleton, the worm will need to molt and shed its hard outer shell in order to grow. Molts will occur ten to twenty times during this stage of life. A recently molted worm will be soft and white, but the exoskeleton will quickly harden.

A mealworm spends its time eating and growing in order to save up energy for the next transformation.

#### **Pupae**

During a mealworm’s last molt it will turn into a white alien-like pupa. It has no mouth or anus so does not eat. It does have leg and wing buds, but they do not function. The pupa is quite helpless and the only movement it can do is wiggle. This stage of life will last one to three weeks as the pupa transforms its organs and body into an adult.

#### **Adult**

The final stage of the insect’s life is as the darkling beetle and lasts one to three months. The beetle will be white with a soft exoskeleton. As the outer shell hardens, it will turn brown and then black. The beetle does have hard wings, but it is unable to fly.

After about one to two weeks of adult life, beetles will begin to mate and reproduce. A few days after mating, female beetles will burrow into soil or substrate and lay eggs. Darkling beetles are prolific breeders and females can lay hundreds of eggs during their adult lives.

### Raising & Breeding

Raising mealworms is fairly easy since they are prolific breeders and are hardy insects. They rarely smell, are easy to care for, and don’t take much work.

Breeding will take a while to get started, but once there are plenty of beetles laying eggs you will have worms for as long as you need. You should start with at least one hundred mealworms, but can begin with many more. Then, all you need is a container, substrate, and a source of food and water.

#### **Container**

The container should have a large surface area and smooth sides. The sides of the container only need to be a couple inches higher than the substrate in order to prevent the worms from escaping. An aquarium, terrarium, plastic box, or Sterilite container will make an excellent home.

The container will also need a screened lid to prevent other insects and creatures from getting in and to allow airflow. Good ventilation is needed to prevent the container from getting to warm and to prevent the buildup of humidity and mold growth. If you are using an aquarium, there are screened lids available. For a plastic box you can cut away most of the lid and attach some window screen.

#### **Food Substrate**

The substrate of the container will be the food. You can use wheat bran, oats, cornmeal, wholemeal wheat or rye flour or a mixture of those. Fill the bottom of the container two or three inches deep with the food substrate. You will have to add more food regularly since mealworms are big eaters.

#### **Water**

Slices of potatoes, apples, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, or other fruits and vegetables can supply water to your worms. Potatoes are often preferred since they last a while and do not mold quickly. Do not use a bowl of water since mealworms will crawl in and drown.

#### **Temperature**

Mealworms grow and mate the fastest at a temperature of 22ºC. Temperatures below that won't kill them (it's known they can survive fridge temperatures), but will slow down their metamorphosis cycles considerably (we are talking about several months instead of weeks), however freezing temperatures will kill them. That's why it's very important to keep the farm warm, and a efficient heating system still have to be developed.

#### **Maintenance**

Any dead worms, pupae, or beetles should be removed from the container regularly. If the container begins to smell like ammonia or becomes moldy, it is time to clean the container. You will need to remove all of the mealworms, beetles, and pupae, discard the food and waste, and clean the container. Once clean, replace the food substrate and return the insects to the container.

The adults (darkling beetles) should be removed from the main enclosure to prevent them from eating the eggs.

They have a metamorphosis life cycle. Every cycle must be separated, as *Tenebrio molitor* will eat their eggs/pupae."

Food

Mealworms eat grains, therefore they can be fed oats, corn flour, wheat bran, wholemeal wheat flour or any grain available. That's what's it used as substrate and must be fed in big quantities at once as they like to swirl under it on darkness. Theoretically they could be fed wholemeal bread crumbs, but the problem I see is that bread molds fairly quickly (especially *dumpster dived* ones), but it could be put to proof on a small separated population.

Mealworms must be fed every second day or so with slices of carrots, potatoes (peels won't be eaten) or apples. They absorb water and nutrients from them. They could be fed any vegetables really, but again, mold can be a problem.

Mealworms food ideally should be organic. Pesticides residues present on food can possibly make them die.

### Consumption

This is a selection from the [Wikia] article on *[molitor|Tenebrio molitor].*

Only the larvae of *Tenebrio molitor* is consumed—the adults have a hard shell and emit a foul odor from their scent glands when threatened.

Sauteeing is a popular method for preparing mealworms. Rapid cooking over high heat can cause the larvae to explode, so pan-frying is not recommended. Boiling, roasting, and deep-frying are other common methods of preparation. Marc Dennis, founder of Insects Are Food, recommends freezing mealworms for an hour and then boiled for one minute before using them in your recipe.

The flavor is most described as nutty.

Mealworms can be eaten raw and alive, they can also be pan-fried, but dry-roasting is often the tastiest and least recognizable way to eat them.

**Dry Roasted Mealworms**
Dry roasting is a good way to store excess mealworms. Dried worms don’t take up much space and can last up to a year without being refrigerated. Roasting removes the moisture from the insects while retaining much of their protein and nutritional value.

**Eating Dry Roasted Mealworms**
Dry roasted mealworms can be salted or dipped in chocolate and eaten as a snack, sprinkled on salads, and added to soup. They taste a lot like peanuts and can replace nuts in cookies, cakes, and other desserts.

Since roasted worms are brittle, they can be ground and mixed with flour when you bake muffins, pancakes, or bread. The different ways these insects can be added to recipes is almost limitless.

**How to Dry Roast mealworms**
Place your live mealworms in a colander and toss and rinse them under cool water. This is to remove any food and substrate from the worms. Be sure to pick out any dead worms or pupae.

Pat the worms dry with paper towels, place them in a container or plastic bag, and put them in the freezer for about fifteen minutes. This will quickly kill the worms.

Spread the mealworms out evenly on a non stick cookie sheet. If you are worried that the worms may stick, you can lightly grease the sheet.

Place the worms in an oven at 200 degrees and bake them for one to two hours until they are dry and crispy. Some people do not like the smell of baking worms and prefer to cook them outside on a gas grill set to a low temperature.

NOTE: If you are roasting a large quantity of mealworms, you can use a roasting pan instead of a cookie sheet. They may also need to be baked for a couple more hours.

### **Nutritional Values**

**Live Mealworm**

Protein: 20%

Fat: 13%

Fiber: 2%

Water: 62%

**Dried Mealworm\***
Protein: 53%
Fat: 28%
Fiber: 6%
Water: 5%

\*Approximate values.

## References

1. ↑ [1]
2. http://mealwormcare.org/