Insects in production – an introduction

Insects have been on the menu of humans for centuries, but only recently we have begun to mass produce them for human food and animal feed. This introduction first paints a synopsis of mass cultured insects and their application. The new insect production industry raises many interesting fundamental and applied questions about insect biology and fitness. The second part of the introduction to this special issue addresses the 13 articles dealing with the improvement of mass-rearing efforts for a range of insects. The various studies focus on the effects of diet and microorganisms on relevant life-history traits and economic value of the insects. They reflect the current rapid developments in the insect production industry.