Wild swarms of the long-horned grasshoppers Ruspolia differens (Serville) which are widely harvested for consumption and sale in Africa are seasonal and unsustainable, hence the need for innovative ways of artificially producing the insects. We investigated the development, survival, and reproduction of R. differens in the laboratory on diets mixed with host plants [Digitaria gayana Kunth, Cynodon dactylon (L.) and Megathyrsus maximus Jacq (Poales: Poaceae); Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asterales: Asteraceae)] identified from guts of their wild conspecifics with a view to developing a suitable diet for artificial mass rearing of the edible insect. A standard diet comprising ground black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Startiomyidae) larvae, soybean flour, maize flour, vitamin premix, and ground bones was tested for rearing R. differens as a control against the same ingredients incorporated with individual powders of the different host plants. Whereas R. differens developed more slowly in the diet mixed with D. gayana than in the control diet; its development was faster in the diet mixed with C. dactylon. Mortalities of R. differens in host plant-based diets were 42.5-52.5%, far lower than in the control diet with 71% mortality. The insects raised on the diet mixed with M. maximus laid approximately twice more eggs compared to R. differens fecundities from the rest of the diets. However, inclusion of host plants in the diets had no detectable influence on R. differens adult weight and longevity. These findings support inclusion of specific host plants in artificial diets used for mass rearing of R. differens to enhance its survival, development, and fecundity.

中文翻译：

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寄主植物性人工饲料可增强可食用长角蚱蜢 Ruspolia different（直翅目：Tettigoniidae）的发育、生存和繁殖力。

在非洲广泛收获用于消费和销售的长角蚱蜢 Ruspolia differentens (Serville) 的野生群是季节性和不可持续的，因此需要创新的人工生产昆虫的方法。我们在实验室中研究了 R. differentens 在与宿主植物混合的饮食中的发育、生存和繁殖 [Digitaria gayana Kunth、Cynodon dactylon (L.) 和 Megathyrsus maximus Jacq (Poales: Poaceae)；Ageratum conyzoides L. (Asterales: Asteraceae)] 从它们的野生同种动物的内脏中鉴定出来，旨在开发一种适合人工大规模饲养食用昆虫的饮食。测试了一种标准饮食，包括磨碎的黑水虻、Hermetia illucens L.（双翅目：Startiomyidae）幼虫、大豆粉、玉米粉、维生素预混物和磨碎的骨头，用于饲养 R. 作为对照与掺入不同宿主植物的单个粉末的相同成分不同。而在与 D. gayana 混合的饮食中，R. differentens 的发育比在对照饮食中更慢；它在与 C. dactylon 混合的饮食中发育更快。以植物为基础的宿主饮食中 R. differentens 的死亡率为 42.5-52.5%，远低于对照饮食中 71% 的死亡率。与 M. maximus 混合的饮食中饲养的昆虫与其他饮食中的生殖力不同的 R. 相比，产卵量大约多两倍。然而，在日粮中加入寄主植物对 R. distinct 的成年体重和寿命没有可检测到的影响。这些发现支持将特定的寄主植物纳入用于大规模饲养 R.diff 的人工饲料中，以提高其生存、发育和繁殖力。