Nutrient-rich locusts serve as an ingredient for food production in China

Abstract

As a major group of insects, locusts frequently cause agricultural damage, however, they have high economic value due to their rich nutritional content. In this paper, we systematically summarise the research results on the species, distribution, and functional composition of locusts in China over the past three decades and analyse the differences in research results in relation to experimental methods, locust species, and the experimental dates. In addition, we also introduce the methods for obtaining mass locusts, and discuss the edible, medicinal and feed usage of locusts, and prospect the exploitation of locust resources in order to provide a reference for locust-related research.