The utilization and industrialization of insect resources in China

Abstract

AbstractInsecta is the biggest group of animals on earth. The insects are thought to be one of the biggest biological resources that have not been fully exploited by humans. China is one of the earliest countries to exploit insect resources in the world and has been the top producer for over one thousand years of many insect‐related industrial products, such as silk, insect wax and Chinese gallnuts. The exploitation and industrialization of insect resources in China is generally classified into four different levels. The first level is the direct utilization of insect bodies and their secretions, the history of which can be traced back for thousands of years. This level includes the culture and utilization of the silkworm Bombyx mori, the Chinese honeybee Apis cerana cerana, the Chinese white‐wax scale Ericerus pela, the Chinese gall aphid Schlechtendalia chinensis, and the lac insects Kerria spp. Additionally, numerous other insects are typically used for Chinese traditional medicines and food, such as Eupolyphaga sinensis, Opisthoplatia orientalis, Aspongopus chinensis, Martianus dermestoides, Polyrhachis vicina, Hepialus spp, Vespa, Hydrillodes repugnalis, and Tenebrio molitor. Pollinators (Megachile rotundata, Osmia cornifrons, O. excavata) and ornamental insects like butterflies, katydids Gampsocleis grafiosa, and fighting crickets Scapsipedes micado are also among the insects included in this level. Accordingly, a related industry is insect‐breeding, including sericulture and apiculture, which lays the basis for all insect industrialization. The second level is the utilization of insects as enemies of pests and insect pathogens for biological control. The enemy insects, including the egg parasites tricogramma Trichogramma spp, the seven spotted lady beetle Coccinella septempunctata, the Chinese green lacewing Chrysopa sinica, and Anastatus sp. could be produced in large scale. The insect pathogens that have been extensively used for commercial biocontrol in China include Helicoverpa armigera Nucleopolyhedrovirus (HaSNPV), Ectropis oblique Nucleopolyhedrovirus (EcobNPV), Spodoptera exigua multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV), Autographa californica multicapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV), Plutella xylostella Granulosis (PxGV), Pieris rapae granulosis (PiraGV), and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). Related industries include the biopesticide industry and the enemy insect production industry. The third level of utilization is the extraction and synthesis of insect materials with diverse bioactivities. Some insect pheromones and hormones extracted from insect bodies or chemically synthesized have been used for insect pest control and for regulating the silkworm breeding. Toxins from honeybees and wasps have been used in medicine. Some insect materials from the larvae of honeybees, silkworms, tasar silkworms, and houseflies have been developed into health products. The fourth level is using the insects as bioreactors to produce peptides for medical and veterinary uses. Hundreds of foreign genes have been successfully expressed in the insect cells and larvae. The hGM‐CSF expressed in silkworm pupae is commercially available. In this article, we review the culture and utilization of important industrial insects in China.