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ABSTRACT
Objective: In this research, the nutritional composition of larvae of the beetle Rhynchophorus palmarum L. 1758 (Coleóptera: Curculionidae) in palm trees of the Mezquital Valley, Hidalgo, Mexico was determined.
Design / methodology / approach: In January 2020, 250 grams of Rhynchophorus palmarum larvae were collected from damaged Phoenix canariensis palms at the Francisco I. Madero Polytechnic University, located in Tepatepec, Hidalgo, Mexico. They were placed in a plastic bottle and placed in a freezer for their conservation and transfer to the Department of Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, to evaluate the nutritional content by means of a chemical analysis. proximal.
Results: The larvae of R. palmarum in their proximal composition, had a protein content on a dry basis of 25.52% and on a wet basis 9.04%, ethereal extract 19.77%, dry matter 35.74%, humidity 64.26%, ash 0.70%, fiber crude 1.64%, nitrogen free extract 4.58%, calcium 0.20%, phosphorus 0.31%.
Limitations of the study / implications: In the literature review it was found that there are no investigations of this insect as human food for Mexico.
Findings / conclusions: It is concluded that these larvae can be exploited for human and livestock nutrition as a protein and energy supplement, even to enrich and prepare conventional food for society.
Keywords: worm, beetle, protein, food, entomophagy.