"Commercially raised feeder insects are in most cases likely fed a least‐cost diet designed to maximize growth and reproduction at the lowest cost without regard to the nutrient content of the feeder insect. These data clearly show that by changing the diet fed to the insect during growth the nutrient content of the feeder insect can be substantially altered. Although not all nutrients (i.e. calcium) can easily be changed these data suggest that the fatty acid composition, vitamin E concentrations, carotenoid content, and perhaps some B‐vitamin concentrations in live insects can be altered by changing the diet fed to the insect while it is actively growing. In many cases, the nutrient content of insects fed enhanced diets closely mimics the nutrient content of wild insects (i.e. vitamin E, carotenoids, and fatty acids profiles). This technique has the potential to substantially improve the nutritional value of commercial feeder insects when used as food for captive insectivores."...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/zoo.21246
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/zoo.21246
