Investigate use of insect larvae in food rations of goldfish and chickens after experiments of small-scale insect farms

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">Changing societiesare challenging the agricultural and food industries. Food production has becomeindispensable as population growth has increased the demand for different typesof food. It has been recognized that insect farming may offer an alternative solutionto the global protein shortage, which poses a significant threat to thestability of the worldwide food chain. Within the framework of this study,breeding and propagation experiments were carried out as the first stage oftesting edible insects with small-scale facilities that can be selected at a lower cost. It is seen as an advantage that protein-rich insects will benefit economically by supplementing the feed rations of hens and goldfish.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">The main objectivesof this study were the preparation of edible insect cultures and theprocurement of chicken and fish for experimental purposes. Egg packages werecollected and small cabinets (1m² cabin with 4 shelves) wereobtained. Aquatic and terrestrial individuals of the same genus as the WorldEdible Insect List species collected from the environment were captured andattempted to be kept alive and propagated in small cabinets. Live mealworms (<i>Tenebrio molitor</i>) were ordered in casethe insect larvae died and other insect larvae (<i>Cybister</i> sp. etc.) were tried to be fed with honey, bread bran,glycerine etc. in the cabinet. They were reared in a continuous darkenvironment at a constant temperature and humidity (28 ± 2 ºC and 65 ± 5%relative humidity in an oven in the laboratories of the vocational school). Thediet consisted of 420 g bran, 150 ml filtered honey, 150 ml glycerol, 20 gground dark honeycomb and 30 ml distilled water. For the feeding experiments,certain concentrations of antivirals (0.01, 0.1, 1.0 and 3.0 g ofacyclovir-like antivirals in 5 ml of 100 ml distilled water) were applied byspraying to avoid contamination. The insect larvae and adults were dried andadministered to 10 fish in the diet (0%, 5%, 10% and 25%ratios) and the changes in the life forms of these organisms were observed andrecorded. <o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">In the experimentalstudies, insect larvae were kept alive for a certain period but couldnot be bred due to limited facilities. In chickens, no change was observed infeed rations consisting of insect larvae and adults, while in fish the residualwater was found to be more polluted. <o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt;text-align:justify"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-language:EN-US">In conclusion, itis known that insects produce relatively less greenhouse gases and less ammoniain comparison to cattle farming; therefore, the nutritional quality of edibleinsects is considered to be equal to or better than that of other foodproducts. In this context, it is concluded that the use of the feed rationsexpected to be provided by insect farms will make a great contribution to thenational economy.<o:p></o:p></span>