Increases in global human population are leading to increasing demands for food production and waste management. Insect biomass is a sustainable alternative to traditional animal feeds when insects are produced on lignocellulosic by-products. Resources high in lignocellulose have high carbon to nitrogen ratios and require nitrogen supplementation to accelerate bioconversion. Here we report on studies that examine the influence of nitrogen supplementation of almond hull-based feedstocks on black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) cultivation and composition. Decreasing carbon to nitrogen ratio from 49 to 16 increased larvae harvest dry weight, specific larvae growth, and yield by 36%, 31%, and 51%, respectively. However, the decrease in carbon to nitrogen ratio decreased larvae methionine and cysteine contents by 11% and 13%, respectively. The findings demonstrate that carbon to nitrogen ratio can be managed to enhance bioconversion of lignocellulose to larvae, but that this management approach can reduce larvae amino acid content.

全球人口的增长导致对粮食生产和废物管理的需求增加。当在木质纤维素副产物上产生昆虫时，昆虫生物量是传统动物饲料的可持续替代物。木质纤维素含量高的资源具有很高的碳氮比，需要补充氮以加速生物转化。在这里，我们报告了研究，考察了基于杏仁壳的原料氮的添加对黑战士蝇幼虫（Hermetia illucens）的影响。L.）栽培和组成。将碳氮比从49降低到16会使幼虫收获的干重，幼虫的特定生长和产量分别增加36％，31％和51％。然而，碳氮比的降低使幼虫蛋氨酸和半胱氨酸的含量分别降低了11％和13％。研究结果表明，可以控制碳氮比，以增强木质纤维素向幼虫的生物转化，但是这种管理方法可以减少幼虫的氨基酸含量。