Minerals in edible insects:a review of content and potential for sustainable sourcing

In response to the rapid increase in world population and subsequent demands for food,edible insects represent an alternative food source for humans that is rich in proteins,amino acids and minerals.Entomophagy is a tradition in many countries including China and Thailand,and edible insects have attracted a lot of attention in Western World due to their suitable nutrient composition,high mineral content(e.g.,Fe,Zn,Ca,Mg)and potential use as a supplement in human diet.In this study,we surveyed mineral content in seven insect orders and 67 species of mass produced and wild-harvested edible insects.The total content of essential elements in edible insects was very high in Tenebrio molitor,Bombyx mori,and Zonocerus variegatus.The heavy metal content(summarized for eight species)was below the maximum limit allowed for safe consumption.Sustainable supply of minerals derived from insect biomass is complicated due to the high variations of mineral content in insects and the potential of its change due to processing.

Efficacy of Beneficial Fungi Isolates in Solanum lycopersicum L. Protection against Lepidopteran Insects through a Leaf Inoculation Technique

Helicoverpa armigera is a key insect pest of tomatoes reducing drastically yields. The effect of the endophytic colonization of tomato plants by Beauveria bassiana using leaf spray as an inoculation method on damage and survival of H. armigera was assessed in a screen house. Two B. bassiana isolates (Bb 115 and Bb 11) and two tomato varieties (a local variety Tounvi and an improved variety Padma) were included in the study. The adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces were sprayed at a concentration of 107 conidia/ml and 109 conidia/ml for each isolate and each of the two tomato varieties. Thirty days after inoculation, five discs of tomato leaf and tomato root were cut for each isolate, each concentration per isolate and for each variety. The samples were incubated at room temperature (28°C ± 2°C) and periodically checked for fungal growth. Larval survival was checked and a damage assessment was done on tomato flowers and the leaves. The results show that the lowest Mean Survival Times (MSTs) were recorded on larvae feeding on plants inoculated with Bb 11 (4.2 ± 0.8 days against 11.5 ± 0.2 days for control). Compared to the other treatments, low damage rates of the flowers of the improved variety inoculated with Bb 11 at 109 conidia/ml were recorded from the 6th Day After Inoculation (DAI). This rate remains low until the end of treatment. Overall flower damage was lower than leaf damage. The results showed large differences in pathogenicity, with most endophytic isolate belonging to Bb 11 when inoculated at 109 conidia/ml using the leaf spraying technique. Data were discussed with regard to the use of endophytism B. bassiana in an integrated tomato pest control approach.

Historical and current climates affect the spatial distribution of herbivorous tree insects in China

Historical and current climate impacts reshape the evolutionary trajectory and ecological dynamics of entire vegetative communities,which can drive insect species distribution.Understanding the spatial distribution of insects can enhance forest management effectiveness.The effects of historical and current climates in the spatial distribution of herbivorous tree insects in China were explored.A species distribution model simulated insect spatial distribution based on 596 species and the distribution probability and richness of these species were assessed in forest ecoregions.The explanatory power of the historical climate was stronger than that of the current climate,particularly historical annual precipitation and annual mean temperatures,for the distribution of herbivorous insects.Under both historical and current climatic conditions,herbivorous tree insects were and are mainly distributed in the North China Plain and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Plain,namely in the Huang He Plain mixed forests,Changjiang Plain evergreen forests,and Sichuan Basin evergreen broadleaf forests.The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and northeast China are regions with large impact differences between historical and current climates.The findings of this study provide valuable insights into herbivorous insect responses to sustained climate change and may contribute to long-term biodiversity conservation activities.

THE ECO-GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF FOREST INSECTS IN CHINA

The eco—geographical division of forest insects in China is generally divided into 4 1evels:region,subregion,area and province The region is formed by iso1ation of ocean,high mountain and desert etc.The division of subregion is on the basis of resistance of extreme tem-perature humidity in winter.The division of area or province is on the basis of landform,type of vegelation in forest zone and temperature zone.

Precise Agriculture:Effective Deep Learning Strategies to Detect Pest Insects

Pest insect monitoring and control is crucial to ensure a safe and profitable crop growth in all plantation types,as well as guarantee food quality and limited use of pesticides.We aim at extending traditional monitoring by means of traps,by involving the general public in reporting the presence of insects by using smartphones.This includes the largely unexplored problem of detecting insects in images that are taken in noncontrolled conditions.Furthermore,pest insects are,in many cases,extremely similar to other species that are harmless.Therefore,computer vision algorithms must not be fooled by these similar insects,not to raise unmotivated alarms.In this work,we study the capabilities of state-of-the-art(SoA)object detection models based on convolutional neural networks(CNN)for the task of detecting beetle-like pest insects on nonhomogeneous images taken outdoors by different sources.Moreover,we focus on disambiguating a pest insect from similar harmless species.We consider not only detection performance of different models,but also required computational resources.This study aims at providing a baseline model for this kind of tasks.Our results show the suitability of current SoA models for this application,highlighting how FasterRCNN with a MobileNetV3 backbone is a particularly good starting point for accuracy and inference execution latency.This combination provided a mean average precision score of 92.66%that can be considered qualitatively at least as good as the score obtained by other authors that adopted more specific models.

Book review on Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed security

Book review on Edible insects: Future prospects for food and feed

Conventional and Molecular Approaches towards Genetic Improvement in Pigeonpea for Insects Resistance

Pigeonpea [Cajanus cajan (L.) Millspaugh] is an important food legume of the semi-arid tropics (SAT) sustaining livelihood of millions of people. Stagnant and unstable yield per hectare all over the world is the characteristic feature of this crop. This is primarily ascribed to its susceptibility/sensitivity to a number of biotic and abiotic factors. Among biotic factors, insects such as pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera), pod fly (Melanoagromyza obtusa) and spotted borer (Maruca vitrata) substantially damage the crop and result in significant economic losses. Management of these insects by genetic means has always been considered environment friendly approach. However, genetic improvement has always been impeded by limited genetic variability in the primary gene pool of pigeonpea. Wild species present in the secondary and tertiary gene pools have been reported to carry resistance for such insects. However, transfer of resistance through conventional backcrossing has not been much successful. It calls for gene introgression through marker assisted backcrossing (MABC) or advanced backcross breeding (AB breeding). In this review, we have attempted to assess the progress made through conventional and molecular breeding and suggested the ways to move further towards genetic enhancement for insects resistance in

Ozone disrupts the communication between plants and insects in urban and suburban areas:an updated insight on plant volatiles

Plant-insect interactions are basic components of biodiversity conservation.To attain the international Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs),the interactions in urban and in suburban systems should be better understood to maintain the health of green infrastructure.The role of ground-level ozone(0_(3)) as an environmental stress disrupting interaction webs is presented.Ozone mixing ratios in suburbs are usually higher than in the center of cities and may reduce photosynthetic productivity at a relatively higher degree.Consequently,carbon-based defense capacities of plants may be suppressed by elevated 0_(3) more in the suburbs.However,contrary to this expectation,grazing damages by leaf beetles have been severe in some urban centers in comparison with the suburbs.To explain differences in grazing damages between urban areas and suburbs,the disruption of atmospheric communication signals by elevated 0_(3) via changes in plant-regulated biogenic volatile organic compounds and long-chain fatty acids are considered.The ecological roles of plant volatiles and the effects of 0_(3) from both a chemical and a biological perspective are presented.Ozone-disrupted plant volatiles should be considered to explain herbivory phenomena in urban and suburban systems.

Advances in Researches on Genetic Diversity of Lepidoptera Insects

This paper reviewed advances in researches on genetic diversity of Lepidoptera insects from chromosome polymorphism,protein polymorphism,and DNA polymorphism,and stated that DNA sequence variation will become main points of researches about genetic diversity.

Prevalence of Wolbachia in 10 Tenebrionidae stored-product insects and spatiotemporal infection dynamics in Tribolium confusum(Jaquelin Du Val)(Coleoptera:Tenebrionidae)

Insect symbionts Wolbachia used for pest population control has focused on vector pest species and agricultural insects while rare reports in Chinese stored-product insect samples.In this paper,we surveyed the prevalence of Wolbachia using a PCR detection method in ten Tenebrionidae stored-product insects.Subsequently,the spatiotemporal Wolbachia infection dynamics in Tribolium confusum and Wolbachia elimination patterns using tetracycline treatment were investigated in detail by TaqMan®probe real-time quantitative PCR,and host reproductive fitness parameters were compared.T.confusum was the only Wolbachia infected species in all the surveyed species.Wolbachia infection density consistently increased with the development of T.confusumand plateaued at 3.7×107 wsp copies per individual insect at the young adult stage.Wolbachia densities in females were higher than that in males with a significant difference at the pupae stage and varied among different tissues and organs.Uninfected female beetles were completely incapable of producing mature progenies when crossed with Wolbachia infected males.Embryogenesis and egg hatch rate were specifically inhibited after Wolbachia elimination,while other traits,including the number of eggs,pupation rate and sex ratio,remained unaffected by tetracycline treatment.Our results showthat the TaqMan®probe qPCR is a reliable detection method for quantifying the density of Wolbachia as compared to qualitative detection of wsp gene by PCR and relatively quantified by real-time qPCR.The fitness results indicated that Wolbachia infection was not an obligate symbiont and benefited the host confused flour beetle.

Dynamic flight stability of hovering insects

有 flapping 翅膀的一只昆虫的运动的方程被发源然后简化假设到使用“僵硬身体”的飞的身体的。根据运动的简化方程，四只昆虫的纵的动态飞行稳定性(徘回苍蝇，鹤苍蝇，雄蜂苍蝇和天蛾科之蛾)在徘回，飞行被学习(从 26～157 Hz 从 11～1,648 mg 和翅膀敲击频率 的昆虫的团)。计算液体动力学的方法被用来计算空气动力学的衍生物和特征值的技术，特徵向量分析被用来解决运动的方程。“僵硬身体”的有效性假设被测试并且在尺寸和翅膀 kinematics 的差别怎么影响“僵硬身体”的适用性假设被调查。主要调查结果是：( 1 )为在礼品考虑的昆虫，有相对高的翅膀的学习和那些打败了频率(徘回苍蝇，雄蜂苍蝇和土蜂)，“假设是的僵硬身体”合理，并且为那些与相对低的翅膀敲击频率(鹤苍蝇和 howkmoth )，“僵硬身体”的适用性假设是可疑的。(2 ) 运动的三个自然模式最近为一只土蜂作为那些报导了的一样被识别，即，一个不稳定的摆动的模式，一个稳定的快沉淀模式和一个马厩减缓沉淀模式。(3 ) 特征值的近似分析表情，给物理卓见进运动的自然模式的开始，被导出。表情识别速度衍生物 M u (由统一水平速度生产的投球的时刻)作为不稳定的摆动的模式和稳定的快沉淀模式和 Z w (由统一垂直速度生产的垂直力量)作为主要来源稳定的慢沉淀模式。

Effect of Colored Sticky Cards on Non-target Insects

Field experiments to evaluate four different colored sticky cards for trapping non-target insects were conducted in an organic maize field in the Heinigou region of China. Yellow, blue, green, and red sticky cards were used to trap insects in the field. The total number of insects species caught was 54, with 3,862 individuals recorded. Over half of the specimens caught were non-target insects, including phytophagous insects, particularly dipteran species(including many mosquitoes)(50.3%), followed by target pests(37.0%), and beneficial insects(12.7%). Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in attraction to target pests, non-target pests, and beneficial insects among treatment groups. The results showed that higher numbers of target pests(Myzus persicae Sulzer, Empoasca flavescens Fabricius, Nysius ericaecshinly Schilling) were caught on yellow sticky card traps compared with blue, green, or red sticky card traps, indicating that yellow was the best trap color for target pests, with green and blue being progressively less attractive. For non-target insects, including phytophagous insects, flies, and mosquitoes,higher numbers of were caught on blue sticky card traps compared with yellow,green, or red sticky card traps. Our study indicated that blue was the most attractive color for flies, especially for the housefly, Musca domestica Linnaeus. Our study also showed that most beneficial insects exhibited preferences to particular trap color characteristics: yellow was the most attractive color for parasitic wasps and lady beetles; blue was the most attractive color for hoverflies and honeybees. In contrast,green and red had no significant attraction to beneficial insects.

Dynamic flight stability of hovering model insects:theory versus simulation using equations of motion coupled with Navier-Stokes equations

In the present paper,the longitudinal dynamic flight stability properties of two model insects are predicted by an approximate theory and computed by numerical simulation.The theory is based on the averaged model(which assumes that the frequency of wingbeat is sufficiently higher than that of the body motion,so that the flapping wings' degrees of freedom relative to the body can be dropped and the wings can be replaced by wingbeat-cycle-average forces and moments);the simulation solves the complete equations of motion coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations.Comparison between the theory and the simulation provides a test to the validity of the assumptions in the theory.One of the insects is a model dronefly which has relatively high wingbeat frequency(164 Hz) and the other is a model hawkmoth which has relatively low wingbeat frequency(26 Hz).The results show that the averaged model is valid for the hawkmoth as well as for the dronefly.Since the wingbeat frequency of the hawkmoth is relatively low(the characteristic times of the natural modes of motion of the body divided by wingbeat period are relatively large) compared with many other insects,that the theory based on the averaged model is valid for the hawkmoth means that it could be valid for many insects.

RECENT ADVANCES IN THE PHYSIOLOGY OF FOREST INSECTS IN CHINA

In China the research in the phusiology of forest in inseets began in the 1970s,and in the 1980s a great deal of research works was done in this field,a lot of which were concen-trated on the isolation,identification and synthesis of sex pheromones on the injurious forest in-seets with in Lepidopteron and Coleopteron.In the field of tree resistance physiology,some ad-vanees were achieved in the resislance mechanism of poplar to Longicorn beetles and prominents.The research of the resistance of plne to Matsucoccusmalsumurae Kuwana is now also going on.In addition,the seductive function of plant sex seducements to the Longicorn bee-tle and its digestion physiology are also being studied.Many reports on the analysis of proteins,isoenzymes and amino acids applied to classification of Longicorn beetles,Pine moths and Aphids have been published.A relatively deep insight was gained in the physiological characters of overwintering larvae of Coleophoradahuriea Flkv.in the deep cold region of Hellongjiang

Non-Native Insects in Urban and Forest Areas of Slovenia and the Introduction of Torymus sinensis with Dryocosmus kuriphilus

We survey non-native insects species in whole territory of Slovenia. Data on non-native species were collected in field, and we also used results of projects in which we participated and with overview of literature data in scientific pub-lications. Correspondence Analysis (CA) of data was carried out with the soft-ware Statgraphics Centaurion XVI, U.S.A. Up to 254 non-native insect species are present: around 83% are phytophagous (43% feed on woody plants, 40% on other plants);around 12% are non-phytophagous;and 5% are parasitoids or predators of other insects or mammals. Among the phytophagous species, Hemiptera predominates (with 38.2%), followed by Coleoptera (29.8%) and Lepidoptera (14.5%). Non-native insects that do not feed on plants include Coleoptera (80%), Lepidoptera (6.5%), Hymenoptera (6.5%) and Diptera (6.5%). Most of phytophagous species are associated with introduction of plants on which they are specialists, but some have also shifted from introduced to native plant hosts. 36 non-native phytophagous species (14.17% of all non-native insects) have become harmful plant pests of urban trees and crops. 20 appear on woody plants, but only Dryocosmus kuriphilus, appears in urban forest areas. In the past decades species such as D. kuriphilus, Leptoglossus occidentalis, Xylosandrus germanus, Gnathotrichus materiarius, Dasineura gledichiae, Phyllonorycter issikii, Cinara curvipes, Ophiomyia kwansonis have been recorded in parks and forests. Some non-native species are spreading in Slovenian urban forests and affect economic, ecological and other forest and urban forest functions. The number of harmful insects in forests is extremely small probably due to high diversity of the forest ecosystem, where close-to-nature forest management is practiced, which retains forest’s self-regulatory ability to control pests. Such management enables for example the reduction of D. kuriphilus with expansion of its parasitoid, Torymus sinensis. We attempt to explain this phenomenon: we assume that T. sinensis was introduced in Slovenia as diapaused eggs in its host, D. kuriphilus.

Species Composition and Diversity of Insects of the Kogyae Strict Nature Reserve in Ghana

Kogyae Strict Nature Reserve, the only one in Ghana, was established to promote scientific research, particularly on how nature revitalizes itself after major disasters, and also to check the southward drift of the savannah grassland. This study presents the first comprehensive inventory of species composition and diversity of insects of the Reserve. Insects were surveyed between September 2011 and June 2012 to capture the end of the rainy season, the dry season and the peak of the wet season. Samples were taken from two sites within the Reserve, Dagomba and Oku using various sampling techniques including pitfall traps, malaise traps and sweep nets. Insect communities were characterized in terms of, 1) species richness estimators, 2) species richness, 3) Shannon-Weiner Index of Diversity, 4) Pielou’s evenness and 5) Bray-Curtis similarity. A total of 8147 individuals representing 135 families from 21 orders were recorded. This included 107 species of butterflies from 9 families and 20 species of dragonflies from 3 families. Oku recorded the highest species numbers (S = 63) and richness (d = 12.16) with a high evenness of species (J = 0.9377) during the peak of the wet season;and the lowest species numbers (S = 58) and Margalef’s index of (d = 10.14) in January. The highest Shannon diversity index of (H = 3.927) was recorded at Dagomba in January.

LATERAL DISPERSAL OF ADULT AQUATIC INSECTS FOLLOWING EMERGENCE FROM THE MIDDLE REACHES OF THE CHIKUMA RIVER(HONSHU ISLAND,JAPAN)IN RELATION TO WATERFRONT VEGETATION

To clarify the role of waterfront vegetation of floodplains for adult aquatic insects, Trichoptera and Diptera (Tipulidae and Chironomidae), in the middle reaches of the Chikuma River from May to July, an investigation of the number of these insects was conducted by trapping in each type of vegetation using board traps.A total of 2608.5 adults/m 2 were collected, and we identified a total of 26 species belonging to three taxa,i.e., seven species of Trichoptera, four species of Tipulidae and 15 species of Chironomidae. The most abundant species was Psychomyia acutipennis in Trichoptera (95.7%). There was a significant difference between the number of P.acutipennis in the all vegetation area (especially, Salix subfragilis) and the control area (no vegetation) during the investigation periods (P<0.05, Mann-Whitney U-test). Other taxa did not show a significant difference between the all vegetation area and the control. Moreover, the numbers of adult P. acutipennis showed a significant difference in height on each vegetation. In the case of Vicia villosa varia and V. villosa varia plus dead Phragmites australis, the highest number was caught in the traps set in the boundary between one plant and the plant above (P<0.05, Steel-Dwass Test) in May.On the other hand, in the case of almost all vegetation during the investigation periods (except of S.subfragilis in May, Melilotus officinalis plus dead P.australis in June), the highest number was caught in the traps set up within the vegetation (P<0.05, Steel-Dwass Test).As a result, a significant difference was observed in the number of trapped P.acutipennis according to the vegetation and its height.It is suggested that the existence of multiple types of vegetation in the floodplain plays an important role for maintaining the diversity of the fauna there.

The Importance of Insects in Agricultural Ecosystems

Sufficient food production for a growing human population has become an issue of global concern. Almost all of the world’s fertile land is currently in use and arable land areas cannot be expanded significantly. The global challenge is to secure high and quality yields and to make agricultural production environmentally compatible. Insects have been hugely successful in terms of both species richness and abundance. Insects make up the most numerous group of organisms on earth, around 66% of all animal species, and being good dispersers and exploiters of virtually all types of organic matter, can be found almost everywhere, forming an important part of every ecosystem and are vital within our food supply chains performing valuable ecosystem services. Insects have been predominantly perceived as competitors in the race for survival. Herbivorous insects damage 18% of world agricultural production. Despite this damage less than 0.5 percentage of the total number of the known insect species are considered pests. Insect pests are created through the manipulation of habitats by humans, where crops are selected for larger size, higher yields, nutritious value, and are cultivated in monocultures for maximum production. This provides a highly favourable environment for the population increase of herbivorous insects. To ensure stable crop yields we need to change the management strategies of agroecosystems. We need to manage these systems in such a way that insects performing valuable ecosystem services are also incorporated into the system. This will ensure stable, resilient and sustainable systems in a constantly changing environment and will go a long way to ensure future food security. This paper examines the important role that insects generally play in ecosystems and how the services that insects provide can improve agricultural ecosystems.

Abundance of insects and aerial insectivorous birds in relation to pesticide and fertilizer use

Background:The abundance of insects has decreased considerably during recent decades,resulting in current abundance showing 70-80%reductions in more than 15 studies across temperate climate zones.Dramatic reduc-tions in the abundance of insects are likely to have consequences for other taxa at higher trophic levels such as preda-tors and parasites.Pesticides,fertilizers and agricultural land use are likely candidates accounting for such reductions in the abundance of insects.Methods:Here we surveyed the abundance of flying insects,and the reduction in the abundance of insects as a consequence of intensive reduction in agricultural practice linked to fertilizer use and pesticide use.Finally we dem-onstrated consistency in abundance of birds among study sites.Results:We demonstrated that the use of fertilizers and pesticides had reduced the abundance of insects,with consequences for the abundance of insectivorous bird species such as Barn Swallows(Hirundo rustica),House Martins(Delichon urbicum)and Swifts(Apus apus).Juvenile Barn Swallows were negatively affected by the reduced abundance of insects and hence the reproductive success of insectivorous bird species.These effects imply that the abundance of insects could be reduced by the availability of insect food.Conclusions:These effects of intensive agriculture on insect food abundance are likely to have negative impacts on populations of insects and their avian predators.This hypothesis was validated by a reduction in the abundance of insects,linked to an increase in the abundance of fertilizers and a general change in farming practice.

Regional selection of insecticides and fungal biopesticides to control aphids and thrips and improve the forage quality of alfalfa crops

The efficacies of biological and conventional chemical insecticides against two major insect pests of alfalfa(aphids and thrips)were compared in three sites across China’s alfalfa belt.In addition,the persistence of the residues of chemical insecticides in alfalfa and their influence on the quality of alfalfa hay were examined.Efficacy varied among the different biological and chemical insecticides.The chemical insecticides were significantly more effective than biopesticides in a short time-frame.The efficacy period of biopesticides was significantly longer than that of chemical insecticides,and the corrected mortality rate of aphids in all regions was above 50%at 14 days after application.The analysis of pesticide residues showed that the residual doses of all the pesticides were within the allowed ranges after the safe period.The acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber contents in alfalfa hay were higher and the protein content was lower in chemical insecticide treatments than in biopesticide treatments in Hebei.The relative feeding value of alfalfa hay treated with Metarhizium anisopliae IPP330189 was the highest among the treatments.Compared with chemical insecticides,the yield of alfalfa hay was higher in the biopesticides treatments.Biopesticides show a stronger control effect on insect populations and also a better improvement in the quality of alfalfa hay than chemical insecticides.This study provides a basis for exploring and developing a comprehensive control regime for alfalfa insect pests in the different alfalfa-growing regions in China,and for reducing chemical insecticide usage and improving forage quality.