im very interested in raising insects on a large enough scale to make them my sole protein source. Ive only had mealworms and crickets and both seemed to taste like whatever I seasoned them withor cooked them in (mealworms fried in butter and salted tasted like a somewhat bland, very crunchy popcorn). I tried breeding mealworms but lost patience and ate all the larvae, the pupas all didnt make it. But ill be trying again soon.
The only downside, to me, about mealworms, is their need for a high carb diet, which usually means grains. I think mealworms are ultimate in every other way besides that (very little smell, no lighting needs, their poop is basically a powder that sifts to the bottom of the cage, very small space requirements, quiet and escape is unlikely). But i dont feel like buying or growing grains. My ultimate goal is to raise insects off of vegetable scraps and foraged vegetation like leaves and grass, as a free source of protein. Ive been looking into grasshoppers, which need more space and require lighting, but research says theyll do fine off of fresh collected grass, weeds and leaves. Ive also been thinking about just using large traps to catch them, theres a video of large, light baited locust traps in Uganda that gets a really awesome amount.
