Tenebrio molitor is an easily obtained highly nutritional alternative source of protein in animal feed. To get good results in growth performance and nutritional composition, it is necessary to know the diet digestibility and dietary needs of T. molitor. In the experimental condition, the T. molitor was fed with wheat bran and oat flakes, two easily accessible diets on the local market at an acceptable price. Both groups (four replicates each) of T. molitor were fed the same diet weekly (25 g of feed and water were supplied through agar). The production parameters such as feed conversion, intake of feed, and growth during the whole experimental period were observed. At the same time, the digestibility study was performed to obtain the coefficient of digestibility of the dry matter, organic matter, ash, crude protein, crude fat, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), and hemicelluloses. For both diets, the growth parameters were relatively similar having been slightly better for the oat flakes. The feed conversion ratio for wheat bran and oat flakes was 2.16 and 2.00, with growth per unit average of 46.37 g and 50.30 g respectively. The digestibility trial showed much better digestibility of oat flakes with the average digestibility coefficient of dry matter of 0.78, organic matter 0.80, crude protein 0.46, and crude fat 0.85. The digestibility of wheat bran was for dry matter 0.50, organic matter 0.51, crude protein 0.33, and crude fat 0.88. Both diets can be successfully used for the nutritional needs of T. molitor, however, using the oat flakes gives better growth performance and digestibility results. The choice of the diet will depend on the costs at the moment.

To maximize protein production from insects, it is essential to understand their nutritional requirements, production characteristics, and the chemical properties of the resulting feed, along with how these factors depend on the insects’ diets. This research involved the use of nine different insect diets, all based on wheat bran. Corn and soybean meal were included to enhance the energy and protein content. The weight gain of larvae was significantly affected by the level of protein in their feed; however, the energy level did not have a significant impact on the weight gain measured in grams per day per tray. This gain ranged from 0.57 g/day per tray for insects fed low-energy, low-protein diets to 0.71 g/day per tray for those fed high-protein, medium-energy diets. Feed conversion ranged from 1.83 to 2.34 and was significantly influenced by energy and protein levels. The chemical composition of reared insects showed significant differences, particularly in fat content. The fat content ranged from 38.5% with a low-protein diet to just 26.9% with a high-protein diet. In contrast to fat content, the variability in protein content was smaller, ranging from 44.8% in a low-protein, high-energy diet to 51.9% in a high-protein, high-energy diet.

Zophobas morio is a potentially promising insect species for mass rearing; however, available data on its production performance and nutritional utilization remain limited. In this study, larvae were reared on nine different feed substrates, of which seven were retained for complete quantitative analysis. Production performance was evaluated at both tray and the individual larva weight to reflect conditions relevant to intensive production systems. Significant differences in production performance were observed among diets. Wheat bran resulted in the best performance, with a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 2.55, whereas breadcrumbs resulted in the poorest performance (FCR 17.50). In two treatments (soybean grits and field pea), production performance could not be evaluated due to severe mortality and cannibalistic behavior or complete mortality, respectively, and these treatments were excluded from further analyses. Digestibility parameters could not be determined for the breadcrumbs treatment due to extremely low feed intake, which was insufficient to allow excreta (frass) collection required for the digestibility trial. Digestible energy ranged from 5.54 MJ/kg dry matter in canola meal to 10.40 MJ/kg dry matter in wheat grain. Diet composition had a pronounced effect on larval chemical composition. It is possible that carbohydrate-rich diets were associated with higher lipid accumulation (up to 60.44% in breadcrumbs), whereas protein-rich substrates were associated with increased larval protein content (up to 59.79% in sunflower meal), indicating clear dietary modulation of nutrient deposition. Overall, the results confirm that both production efficiency and larval composition in Zophobas morio are strongly dependent on diet formulation, highlighting the importance of optimized feeding strategies for its potential industrial production.

The widespread development of acaricide resistance in the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, has intensified the need for sustainable pest management strategies. This narrative review examines phytoseiid predatory mites and essential oils as complementary components of integrated pest management against T. urticae. Web of Science and Scopus were searched for literature published from 1992 to 2026, resulting in 124 studies included in the review. The simultaneous or sequential use of multiple predatory mite species may enhance suppression under suitable ecological and management conditions, although predator performance can be affected by environmental conditions, competition, and intraguild interactions. Essential oils exhibit acaricidal, repellent, ovicidal, and sublethal effects against T. urticae, but their efficacy varies with chemical composition, concentration, exposure method, and experimental conditions. Most evidence derives from laboratory studies, and performance under realistic production conditions remains insufficiently evaluated. Some essential oils show favorable selectivity toward phytoseiid mites. However, others can also exert substantial adverse effects on predatory mites, indicating that high acaricidal efficacy against T. urticae does not necessarily imply selectivity toward beneficial species. Standardized protocols for evaluating essential oils remain lacking, and direct studies of their compatibility with predatory mites are limited. Further research should therefore validate essential oil efficacy, predator compatibility, and combined application strategies under realistic production conditions. These findings indicate that successful integration requires evaluation of each specific EO–predator combination, including acute and sublethal effects on the selected predator species. Promising combinations should subsequently be validated under realistic production conditions before practical implementation within Integrated Pest Management.

Feed composition drives the viability of yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus, 1758) mass rearing, yet broad comparisons of feed materials remain scarce. In this research, the population growth of T. molitor was evaluated on 23 diets in a 65-day bioassay starting with 25 adults per replicate. The diets comprised 15 individual feed materials, including wheat bran as the control, and eight formulated diets with systematically varied protein and energy levels. At the end of the assay, all adults, larvae and pupae were counted, and population growth was expressed as the total number of individuals. Feed material significantly affected all population parameters (p ≤ 0.01), with the instantaneous rate of population increase (r_i) ranging from 0.0314 on dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) to 0.0603 on brewer’s yeast. Compared with the control (wheat bran), DDGS, flaxseed cake, brewer’s spent grain, barley flakes, oat flakes and breadcrumbs significantly reduced the expected population size. Brewer’s yeast, the highest-protein material (50.37%), produced the largest population, but it did not differ significantly from the control. A few pupae were recorded, but only on five of eight formulated mixtures. Because DDGS and flaxseed cake were also among the highest-protein materials, protein content alone did not predict population growth. Brewer’s yeast, rapeseed cake and sunflower meal did not differ significantly from wheat bran in either population size or larval biomass.

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolic products of fungi. They have a very broad spectrum of action, which is the result of their diversity. The ingestion of fungal toxins through food causes intoxications, known as mycotoxicoses. The most significant genera of fungi that produce mycotoxins are: Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, and Claviceps. In addition to these genera, it has been determined that there are more than a hundred other genera capable of producing mycotoxins. To date, more than 400 different mycotoxins have been chemically identified. Mycotoxins primarily exhibit general toxicity to cells, however, some mycotoxins show affinity for certain cells, specifically cells of certain organs, such as the kidneys, liver, heart, nervous, and hematopoietic tissues. The toxicity of mycotoxins depends on many factors, primarily the type and amount of mycotoxins in food, the duration of exposure, the method of toxin intake, and the general health status of the organism. This paper will focus on the following three mycotoxins: aflatoxins, zearalenone, and deoxynivalenol (DON).