Effects and profits of feeding Tenebrio molitor with Lemna minor

Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and duckweed (Lemna minor) are living in high density and breeding quickly and both of them are important bioresource and may play a significant role in agriculture. In order to assess the value of duckweed applied to feed mealworm larva, parallel tests were carried out. The results showed that mealworm larvae feed fresh duckweed well, however if the additive proportion of fresh duckweed was over 80%, the growth of mealworm larvae was impeded although the contents of protein and crude fat in body had no significant difference. When the mass percentage of fresh duckweed and wheat bran was 65% and 35% , respectively, the feed cost of mealworm larvae reduced by 33.95% without effects on the breeding period, harvest yield and quality of mealworm larvae. The study showed that fresh duckweed was feasible to feed mealworm larvae.