Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing

Optimisation of life history and organismal performance underlies success in insect mass-rearing. Rearing schedules, resource use and production yield depend on many aspects of insect fitness and performance within and across generations, such as growth, development, longevity, and fecundity, which...

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Main Authors: Jacinta D. Kong, Émile Vadboncoeur, Susan M. Bertram, Heath A. MacMillan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Current Research in Insect Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666515825000046
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author Jacinta D. Kong
Émile Vadboncoeur
Susan M. Bertram
Heath A. MacMillan
author_facet Jacinta D. Kong
Émile Vadboncoeur
Susan M. Bertram
Heath A. MacMillan
author_sort Jacinta D. Kong
collection DOAJ
description Optimisation of life history and organismal performance underlies success in insect mass-rearing. Rearing schedules, resource use and production yield depend on many aspects of insect fitness and performance within and across generations, such as growth, development, longevity, and fecundity, which are all temperature dependent. Despite this general understanding, we often lack species-specific information needed to make informed decisions about manipulating rearing temperatures to optimise insect growth and development. Here, we characterise the effects of rearing temperature on nymph to adult development and lifespan (20 – 38 °C), and reproductive output (30 – 38 °C) in a farmed cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus). Crickets grew larger and reached adulthood sooner at higher developmental temperatures at the expense of longevity. Reproductive output was similar across a range of temperatures but decreased at 38 °C. Therefore, while temperature control is necessary to maximise production rates, temperature is unlikely to affect production yield in a fixed harvest cycle provided it is maintained within the narrow range enabling both fast growth and stable reproduction (32 – 36 °C). Our study provides a fundamental basis for further optimisation of insect rearing operations and a deeper understanding of the thermal biology of this commonly farmed species.
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spelling doaj-art-ed8a211a0ada4dc88fd2e66cf76196922025-08-20T03:30:48ZengElsevierCurrent Research in Insect Science2666-51582025-01-01710010910.1016/j.cris.2025.100109Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearingJacinta D. Kong0Émile Vadboncoeur1Susan M. Bertram2Heath A. MacMillan3Corresponding author.; Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, CanadaDepartment of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, CanadaDepartment of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, CanadaDepartment of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario K1S 5B6, CanadaOptimisation of life history and organismal performance underlies success in insect mass-rearing. Rearing schedules, resource use and production yield depend on many aspects of insect fitness and performance within and across generations, such as growth, development, longevity, and fecundity, which are all temperature dependent. Despite this general understanding, we often lack species-specific information needed to make informed decisions about manipulating rearing temperatures to optimise insect growth and development. Here, we characterise the effects of rearing temperature on nymph to adult development and lifespan (20 – 38 °C), and reproductive output (30 – 38 °C) in a farmed cricket (Gryllodes sigillatus). Crickets grew larger and reached adulthood sooner at higher developmental temperatures at the expense of longevity. Reproductive output was similar across a range of temperatures but decreased at 38 °C. Therefore, while temperature control is necessary to maximise production rates, temperature is unlikely to affect production yield in a fixed harvest cycle provided it is maintained within the narrow range enabling both fast growth and stable reproduction (32 – 36 °C). Our study provides a fundamental basis for further optimisation of insect rearing operations and a deeper understanding of the thermal biology of this commonly farmed species.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666515825000046Insect rearingInsect agricultureThermal performanceAlternative protein production
spellingShingle Jacinta D. Kong
Émile Vadboncoeur
Susan M. Bertram
Heath A. MacMillan
Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing
Current Research in Insect Science
Insect rearing
Insect agriculture
Thermal performance
Alternative protein production
title Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing
title_full Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing
title_fullStr Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing
title_full_unstemmed Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing
title_short Temperature-dependence of life history in an edible cricket: Implications for optimising mass-rearing
title_sort temperature dependence of life history in an edible cricket implications for optimising mass rearing
topic Insect rearing
Insect agriculture
Thermal performance
Alternative protein production
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666515825000046
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AT susanmbertram temperaturedependenceoflifehistoryinanediblecricketimplicationsforoptimisingmassrearing
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