Avaliação preliminar da produção de ração animal a base de larva de Tenébrio Molitor L. desidratado

Abstract

Insects have been consumed worldwidely since earliest times. It is estimated that about two billion people consume insects daily. These peoples believe that insects are nutritious and are produced in places that are inhospitable to livestock. Recent studies have ratified this belief of these populations and it was highlighted that insects could be used as an ingredient for animal feed production. Therefore, the addition of soybean, corn and meat meal to animal feed would be reduced and this would directly impact the expansion of agriculture, livestock and deforestation. In addition, insects have a large advantage over livestock due to several factors such as high feed conversion, low greenhouse gas emissions, low water consumption, feed on waste, rapid development, high reproduction rates, high levels of protein and lipid concentration, adaptability to inhospitable locations compared to other animals and many others advantages. Given this scenario, there is a great possibility of including insects in animal feed and this paper aims to address this issue. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the protein and lipid composition of dried and ground Tenebrio molitor larvae, to monitor the production of Tenebrio molitor larvae and to make a preliminary economic evaluation for Tenebrio larvae rearing and ration production from them. In the analysis of proteins and lipids, it was found about 46% for protein concentration and 31,6% for lipid concentration. Regarding the rearing of Tenebrio larvae, a positive result was obtained and it was found that it is possible to raise these animals on a large scale and under Brazil’s climate conditions. Regarding the preliminary economic analysis, it was estimated that the initial investment of R$ 84,047.97 would be compensated in less than 1 year. The analysis of animal feed supplementation compared to traditional Tambaqui feed was promising, the cost of producing 1 kg of Tenebrio larvae was estimated at R$ 8.40 and for this ingredient to be competitive it should be sold at R$ 9,15, however, there is a margin for the cost of producing tenebriae to be reduced if their food is exchanged for dry crop residues.