Use of irradiation against stored product insect species that infest edible insect rearing

Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Tenebrio molitor (Linnaeus, 1758) larvae are considered the most important edible insects almost of the world. Infestation of these insect meals with stored-product pests may pose a significant threat to their production process or storage. This study investigated the efficacy of phytosanitary irradiation in protecting H. illucens and T. molitor meals from the three major stored-product pests, Necrobia rufipes (De Geer, 1775), Tribolium castaneum (Hrebst, 1797) and Oryzaephlius surinamensis (Linnaeus, 1758). The obtained data revealed that the longevity periods of N. rufipes, T. castaneum and O. surinamensis were higher (16.8, 30.7 and 19.7 day), respectively when fed on T. molitor compared to BSF diet (7.4, 18.6, and 18.35 days, respectively). Results indicated that O. surinamensis was highly susceptible to irradiation followed by N. rufipes and T. castaneum in response to different doses when reared on both H. illucens and T. molitor meals. The data demonstrated that exposure of the three tested insect pests reared on the both diets to gamma radiation has reduced their population growth and next offspring. The present findings provide a new set of valuable insights towards a comprehensive pest management approach that can be utilized to optimize the farming facility and maximize the utilization of H. illucens and T. molitor products.