부산대학교 도서관

Commonly, the life span of the cricket is very short, reaching from 60 to 70 days and the average egg production lies within the range of 200–1,500 eggs/female. The female can mate with many males and can produce more fertile eggs. The body composition of an adult cricket on analysis showed that it contains dry matter 33.30%, crude protein 63.30%, crude fat 5.20%, ash 5.60%, calcium 10.10%, phosphorous 7.90%, zinc 215.0 mg/kg, and copper 15.00 mg/kg on dry matter basis, respectively. The dry matter digestibility diet was highest for whole cricket (WC, with legs) and the digestibility of ash, crude fiber, and crude fat was higher than form body cricket (BC, removal of legs). The WC and BC diets had lower feed conversion rates than control diets, and higher nitrogen retention (digestion). It was concluded that crickets are potential feed ingredients for ruminants and non-ruminants, especially as protein supplements methane emissions are low in vitro and high ash digestibility indicates the ability to reduce mineral deficiencies.