Insects show great promise as sustainable food sources for fish, poultry, and swine. Some species can efficiently convert food scraps and manure into nutritional supplements while significantly reducing volume and making it unsuitable as a breeding site for pests.

However, insects and mites in livestock feed are a different matter. Their activities can reduce nutritional quality, acceptability, and palatability of feed. In addition, some may serve as hosts for internal parasites. Early recognition of arthropod infestations in feed may prevent establishment of chronic infestations, further spread of the pests, and additional feed loss. Often, the best short-term recourse is to destroy infested feed and implement strong sanitation and prevention practices to prevent a recurrence. The full article looks at different species, including borers, mealworms, bran bugs, mites, and fungus beetles.  ~ full article available in KY Pest News, Dec. 2018.