Insect Diets: Science and Technology

Allen Carson Cohen
Insect Diet & Rearing Institute, LLC, Tucson, Arizona, USA

List Price: $129.95 Our Price: $ 114.95 Cat. #: 1577 ISBN: 0849315778 Publication Date: 10/20/2003 Number of Pages: 344 Availability: In Stock CRC Press

• Details methods of developing and modifying diets for insects, and addresses how to develop systems of standards and quality control of these diets " Analyzes microbe/insect interactions in the rearing setting, focusing on both beneficial and pathogenic organisms
• Explains the effects of processing steps used in the preparation of components and complete diets; steps include refinement, size reduction, heat and cold processing, microbial contamination prevention, and anti-nutrient removal "
• Explores insect feeding and biology, and the structure of their metabolic systems
• Discusses the equipment used in processing diets for small, medium, and large scale applications
• Investigates future prospects for insect diets in relation to microbes, symbionts, fermentation, and technology

Many of the advances in entomology during the past century can be attributed to the ability to rear insects successfully on artificial diets. Reliance upon these diets dictates that we understand how and why diets work and why they fail.

Insect Diets: Science and Technology explains the intricacies and dynamics of this complex and misunderstood aspect of entomology. This text discusses the various ingredients and processing steps of successful diets. It details various nutrient classes and explains how the constituent parts of diets meet insect nutritional and feeding needs. The author examines diets in terms of overall insect biology, and explores the physical and chemical interactions of food components.

This book offers an expert perspective on diet development and how a program of food quality assessment can be applied to rearing systems. Drawing heavily on the field of food science, the book applies the vast resources, information, and methods of this discipline toward a full analysis of the preparation of insect diets, an analysis that serves as a valuable resource in the advancement of entomology.