Meeting Abstract
Insects play an essential role in maintaining the health of an ecosystem through the decomposition of organic material into nutrients and energy cycled through the food web. Due to their large size, tolerance for high population density, and opportunistic feeding, Gromphadorhina portentosa can metabolize large quantities of a wide variety of potential foodstuffs. Our previous research has shown that royal jelly, produced by honeybees, increases the growth rate and fecundity of Gromphadorhina portentosa when administered throughout their life cycle. In this presentation, we examine royal jelly and how it may affect the rate of conversion of organic material eaten by Gromphadorhina portentosa into nutrient rich frass. Preliminary data suggests a positive trend between consistent royal jelly treatments and food consumption in controlled laboratory colonies. In order to explore the effects of long-term and short-term royal jelly treatments on Gromphadorhina portentosa, we administered royal jelly to colonies of cockroaches treated with royal jelly from the beginning of their life and colonies of previously untreated cockroaches while observing various aspects of food consumption including mass and diversity of foods consumed, and measurement of fecal production. These colonies were compared to control colonies of untreated cockroaches fed a similar diet. We will discuss possible contributions of this research to reduction of human impact on ecological processes.
