Edible insects have great potential to be human food; among them, aquatic insects have unique characteristics and deserve special attention. Before consuming these insects, the nutrition and food safety should always be considered. In this review, we summarized the species diversity, nutrition composition, and food safety of edible aquatic insects, and also compared their distinguished characteristics with those of terrestrial insects. Generally, in contrast with the role of plant feeders that most terrestrial edible insect species play, most aquatic edible insects are carnivorous animals. Besides the differences in physiology and metabolism, there are differences in fat, fatty acid, limiting/flavor amino acid, and mineral element contents between terrestrial and aquatic insects. Furthermore, heavy metal, pesticide residue, and uric acid composition, concerning food safety, are also discussed. Combined with the nutritional characteristics of aquatic insects, it is not recommended to eat the wild resources on a large scale. For the aquatic insects with large consumption, it is better to realize the standardized cultivation before they can be safely eaten.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods10123033 | DOI Listing |
Integr Environ Assess Manag
January 2025
U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center, Columbia, MO, United States.
Historic copper mining left a legacy of metal-rich tailings resulting in ecological impacts along and within Torch Lake, an area of concern in the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan, USA. Given the toxicity of copper to invertebrates, this study assessed the influence of this legacy on present day nearshore aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. We measured the metal (Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd) and metalloid (As) concentrations in sediment, pore water, surface water, larval and adult insects, and two riparian spider taxa collected from Torch Lake and a nearby reference lake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEcotoxicology
January 2025
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Songbird reproductive success can decline from consuming mercury-contaminated aquatic insects, but assessments of hydrologic conditions influencing songbird mercury exposure are lacking. We monitored breast feather total mercury (THg) concentrations and reproductive success in the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeotrop Entomol
January 2025
Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Biologia de Ambientes Aquáticos Continentais, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Lab de Limnologia, Univ Federal Do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, RS, Brazil.
Chironomidae have a wide distribution in Neotropical aquatic ecosystems and are predominant in the macroinvertebrate biota of these ecosystems, such as shallow lakes and swamps. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in research efforts aimed at understanding the biology of chironomid, and research on the bionomy of this group is still limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the growth and development of Chironomus calligraphus and Goeldichironomus holoprasinus, maintained under controlled laboratory conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPolymers (Basel)
December 2024
Fibrenamics, Institute of Innovation on Fiber-Based Materials and Composites, University of Minho, 4800-058 Guimarães, Portugal.
Bioresources have been gaining popularity due to their abundance, renewability, and recyclability. Nevertheless, given their diverse composition and complex hierarchical structures, these bio-based sources must be carefully processed to effectively extract valuable raw polymeric materials suitable for producing man-made organic fibres. This review will first highlight the most relevant bio-based sources, with a particular focus on promising unconventional biomass sources (terrestrial vegetables, aquatic vegetables, fungi, and insects), as well as agroforestry and industrial biowaste (food, paper/wood, and textile).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInsects
December 2024
Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China.
While adult fireflies are terrestrial, their larvae inhabit various habitat types, and a lack of comprehensive research on the feeding habits of these larvae across different habitats has greatly impeded the development of artificial diets. Here, we tested 14 types of foods, primarily covering gastropods, vertebrates, and fruit, to survey feed for aquatic ( and ), semi-aquatic ( and sp.), and terrestrial () fireflies.
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