Tribolium castaneum can survive in extremely dry environments and be one of the major insect pests of broken and processed grains or other stored dried foods. Additionally, this species has demonstrated resistance to some classes of insecticides. The objective of this work was to evaluate the nutritional and chemical composition of T. castaneum, reared on maize flour, and compare protein, lipids and fatty acids profile, amino acids and mineral contents, of different developmental stages: larvae, pupae and adults. In general all stages were rich in protein (15.3% for larvae and 17.0% for adults, wet body weight).

Disparities among developmental stages regarding amino acids and fatty acids content were found. Essential amino acids were most abundant in T. castaneum; a different essential amino acid was prevalent on each developmental stage: larvae - valine; pupae - lysine; adults - histidine. Tribolium castaneum is rich in phosphorus, potassium and sulphur; larvae had a significantly higher content of phosphorus, potassium, sulphur and zinc, while adults showed significantly lower content of potassium and zinc. Larvae and pupae showed higher values of SFA (heptadecanoic and stearic acid) and PUFA (α-linolenic and linolenic acids), while MUFA showed the reverse tendency, with adults having the highest contents of hypogeic, palmitoleic and oleic acids. The nutritional differences among different developmental stages identified are due to specificities of each stage (level of chitinization, motility, energy requirements and food intake habits), as the diet offered to the insects was the same. This study can thus be considered a first step towards future directions of investigation, to a better understanding of this pest nutritional preferences and alternatives to achieve a more sustainable management of infested stored products.

Tribolium castaneum可以在极其干燥的环境中生存，是破碎和加工谷物或其他储存干燥食品的主要害虫之一。此外，该物种已证明对某些类别的杀虫剂具有抗药性。这项工作的目的是评估的营养和化学成分赤拟谷盗，饲养在玉米粉，和比较的蛋白质，脂类和脂肪酸的个人资料，氨基酸和矿物质含量，不同发育阶段：幼虫，蛹和成虫。一般来说，所有阶段都富含蛋白质（幼虫为 15.3%，成虫为 17.0%，湿重）。

发现了关于氨基酸和脂肪酸含量的发育阶段之间的差异。必需氨基酸在T. castaneum 中含量最高；每个发育阶段普遍存在不同的必需氨基酸：幼虫-缬氨酸；蛹 - 赖氨酸；成人 - 组氨酸。角豆富含磷、钾和硫；幼虫的磷、钾、硫和锌含量显着较高，而成虫的钾和锌含量显着较低。幼虫和蛹表现出较高的 SFA（十七烷酸和硬脂酸）和 PUFA（α-亚麻酸和亚麻酸）值，而 MUFA 则表现出相反的趋势，成虫的亚油酸、棕榈油酸和油酸含量最高。确定的不同发育阶段之间的营养差异是由于每个阶段的特殊性（几丁质化水平、运动性、能量需求和食物摄入习惯），因为提供给昆虫的饮食是相同的。因此，这项研究可以被视为迈向未来调查方向的第一步，