Response of Crickets to Amount of Forage in the Diet

Abstract Three replicated tests were to define the conditions needed to use house crickets ( Acheta domesticus ) to evaluate forages. Crickets were placed on various proportions of forage-to-concentrate mixtures to determine the relative proportions best suited for cricket survival, growth, and maturity. The concentrate portion alone was adequate to support nominal cricket performance. Forages used were timothy, alfalfa, and alfalfa-timothy (1:1). Forages replaced from 0 to 100%, in increments of 10%, of the concentrate portion. A diet of 40% concentrate and 60% roughage was suitable for evaluating growth and survival effects. The 28-day tests were not long enough to evaluate fully the effects of diet on maturity.