Are mealworms (breadworms) maggots, can they be eaten, and what nutritional value do they have?
The yellow mealworm, also called the breadworm, belongs to the order Coleoptera in insect taxonomy. In appearance, the yellow mealworm looks very similar to fly maggots, so do you know whether the yellow mealworm is a maggot? Can it be eaten? What nutritional value does it have?
1. Is the yellow mealworm a maggot?
1. Fly maggots
Fly maggots are valuable from head to tail. Dried fly maggots contain 56% protein and 0%-15% fat, and are also rich in various amino acids, among which the total amount of essential amino acids is 2.3 times that of fish meal, while methionine and lysine are 2.7 and 2.6 times that of fish meal respectively. According to experiments, adding an appropriate amount of maggots to feed for chickens increased the egg production rate by 17%-25%, feeding fish increased production by 20%, and feeding pigs increased growth speed by 19.2%-42%, while saving feed by 0%-40%.
Fly maggots can not only be used as high-protein feed, but can also be used to extract protein powder and develop high-grade nutritional foods. During the production process, biochemical products such as fat, antimicrobial peptides, lectins, and chitin can also be obtained. Therefore, fly maggot farming is beneficial to the development of poultry, livestock, and planting industries, and also to the development of feed processing, biochemistry, medicine, and food processing industries, with broad prospects!
2. Yellow mealworms
The yellow mealworm, commonly known as the breadworm, originated in North America and was introduced to China from the Soviet Union in the 1950s for rearing. The yellow mealworm is a juicy soft-bodied insect with a fat content of 30% and a protein content as high as more than 50%. In addition, it also contains major elements such as phosphorus, potassium, iron, sodium, and aluminum, various trace elements, and 16 kinds of amino acids essential for animal growth. Every 100 grams of dry product contains as much as 847.91 milligrams of amino acids, and its various nutritional components rank first among all kinds of feed.
According to rearing measurements, the nutritional value of 1 kg of yellow mealworms is equivalent to the nutritional value of 25 kg of wheat bran, 20 kg of mixed feed, and 100 kg of green feed, and it is known as a “treasure house of protein feed”. Experiments by relevant units have proven that it is the best feed for raising spiders, centipedes, scorpions, snakes, as well as poultry and livestock.
This is because yellow mealworm larvae contain 51% protein, pupae contain 57%, and adults contain 60% (according to a report in the Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology News).
Therefore, practice has proven that using yellow mealworms as food can accelerate their growth and development, increase reproduction rates, and improve disease resistance. Using yellow mealworms to raise young poultry results in a survival rate of more than 95%; feeding egg-laying poultry can increase the egg production rate by 0.5 times; and feeding animals such as spiders and scorpions greatly increases their reproduction rate.
2. Can yellow mealworms be eaten?
Yes, they can be eaten. Yellow mealworm pupae are a high-grade dish and a most nutritious green and harmless food, containing high protein, low fat, and various vitamins indispensable to the human body. Under the principles of a reasonable diet and balanced nutrition, pursuing green insect pupae dishes has become a fashion and is highly favored by people, making it an excellent protein food.
Yellow mealworms taste good and have a unique flavor. Yellow mealworms can be roasted, fried, and processed into many forms of food such as protein drinks with a nutty flavor and refined protein powder. Yellow mealworms are not only rich in protein, but the types of amino acids they contain are complete and reasonably composed.
3. What nutritional value do yellow mealworms have?
1. A high-quality high-protein food. Yellow mealworms can not only be used as feed, but can also be eaten. Their larvae contain 56.58% crude protein and 28.20% fat, pupae contain 57% crude protein, and adults contain 64% crude protein. Their content is much higher than that of conventional animal foods such as eggs, beef, and mutton, and they are easy to digest and absorb, and are known as the “king of protein” among insects.
2. A nutrient-rich green food. The high protein and free amino acids contained in yellow mealworms are 50-100 times those of mammals and 11 times those of milk; the content of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K and water-soluble B vitamins is extremely rich. Vitamin B1 is 15 times that of milk, vitamin B2 is 1800 times that of milk, and vitamin B6 is 52 times that of milk; in addition, the content of major mineral elements such as calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium, and trace mineral elements such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, cobalt, chromium, selenium, boron, and iodine, are all much richer than those in milk and meat. Under the principles of “reasonable diet and balanced nutrition”, pursuing green insect pupae dishes has become a fashion and is highly favored by people.
3. A delicious dish suitable for all ages. Yellow mealworms taste good, have a unique flavor, and are easy for consumers to accept. They can be roasted, fried, and processed into many forms of food such as protein drinks with a nutty flavor and refined protein powder.