The nutritional value of egg whites and mealworms

Proteins are the healthiest

Healthy eating guidelines recommend that you should not eat more than three egg yolks per week, but this is not the case for egg whites, and you should not consume more than 300 mg of cholesterol per day. It turns out that egg whites contain neither fat nor cholesterol, and are a food close to pure protein, so the intake of protein is not as limited as that of egg yolks.

Because all fat and cholesterol are in egg yolks, egg yolks should be used as little as possible when cooking. For example, four egg whites and three egg yolks can be used to steam eggs, and two egg whites can be used to replace one egg when making cakes. These methods can reduce the fat and cholesterol in recipes. Have you ever noticed that it takes a lot of oil to make an omelette? It turns out that a boiled egg contains 72 calories, but a fried egg contains 120 calories!

Editor: Nutrition of egg yolks and egg whites

Eggs from chickens, ducks, geese and other poultry have roughly the same nutritional content and are mainly composed of egg yolk, egg white (i.e. albumen) and egg shell. . Eggs weigh about 40-50 grams each, duck eggs weigh 50-60 grams, of which yolk accounts for 32%, egg white accounts for 57%, and the remaining 11% is eggshell. In addition to about 70% water, egg white contains 13-15% protein.

Egg protein is extremely rich in essential amino acids, and its composition ratio is very suitable for the needs of the human body. This protein has the highest utilization rate in the human body. Most of the fat in eggs is in the yolk and is dispersed into fine particles, which are easily absorbed. The fat and cholesterol content in egg yolk are relatively high, and inorganic salts and vitamins are mainly concentrated in the egg yolk. Egg yolks are rich in inorganic salts, calcium, phosphorus and iron, so egg yolks are a good source of iron for infants and young children. Vitamins include vitamin A, vitamin D and riboflavin. Generally speaking, the nutritional value of egg yolks is higher than that of egg whites, but for children over 6 months old, whole eggs are naturally more nutritious.

Mealworms like to eat bread, so they are also called mealworms.

Its nutritional value is very high and it is called the "King of Animal Protein Feeds". Its nutritional value is very high, with a protein content of 47%, a fat content of 23%, and a carbohydrate content of 23%. Its nutrients are comprehensive, ranking first among various animals and plants. It is rich in 19 kinds of amino acids and many other nutrients that are indispensable for fish. It is especially rich in vitamins B2, E, riboflavin, unsaturated fats, etc. It can be said to be one of the ideal baits for raising ornamental fish.

The female worm is short and round, while the male worm is long and huge. Newly born mealworm eggs are extremely small and almost invisible to the naked eye. When they reach 0.1-0.2 cm in length, you can see their wriggling appearance with the naked eye. The larvae grow rapidly in spring and autumn and need to molt 4-5 times until they pupate.

The entire life cycle of mealworms is about 4 months, and the feeding method is relatively simple: clean the enamel or ceramic basin with smooth walls, add bran about 10 cm thick, and then put it into the pot. Put the mealworms in, sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on top, and cover with a few vegetable leaves or vegetable slices, such as pumpkin, zucchini, cucumber, Chinese cabbage, cabbage, pak choi, etc. These leaves are edible for mealworms and can increase humidity. Then place the pot in a place with a higher indoor temperature, usually 22 to 25°C, and a humidity of 50% to 60%. Mealworms go through 6 to 7 molts from eggs to adults, and it takes more than 3 months to become adults (black scale insects). The average body length is 32 mm, the body width is 3.5 mm, the average weight is 0.2 g, and some individuals can weigh up to 0.25 g. After turning into a pupa, the length of the pupa is 17 mm, the body width is 4 mm, and the average weight is 0.1 g. The process of the mealworm turning into a pupa is to first make a small opening on the head, then the tail begins to wriggle, and the skin slowly sheds from the top of the head to the back, and the entire shed can be completed in 5 to 10 minutes. The whole body of the pupa is milky white, which turns into dark yellow after 5 to 6 hours. After another 3 to 5 days, the pupa begins to transform into an adult insect (black scale insect). After mating, the adults begin to lay eggs 2 to 3 days later. During this period, some leafy vegetables can be placed in the pot. On the one hand, the mealworms can feed, and on the other hand, the adults can lay eggs on the leafy vegetables. The eggs are milky white and as big as millet grains. Be careful not to throw away the remaining leafy vegetables to avoid throwing away the insect eggs at the same time. It takes 9 to 10 days for the eggs to hatch into larvae. If you observe carefully, you can see the larvae wriggling in the wheat bran. At this time, you can take out the dried vegetable leaves and cover the wheat bran with a layer of fresh vegetable leaves and flour or corn meal for the larvae to eat, and the larvae will grow up quickly. In the breeding of mealworms, large pupae should be selected to save seeds and placed in a single pot for egg laying.

Such larvae are basically the same size, and the eggs will not be screened out when replacing the insect feces. When feeding birds, you can first pick out the larger ones and feed them. Those that have turned into pupae can be picked out and placed in another pot to continue breeding. Mealworms of different sizes should be kept separately. After feeding a pot of mealworms, when breeding again, the old pot should be cleaned before use. During the breeding process of mealworms, you should always check whether the wheat bran has been eaten. If it has been eaten, you can use a sieve to sift out the worms and replace it with new bran. After the bran in the basin turns black, you can sprinkle a little fresh drum skin and flour, corn flour, etc. on it. Always replace new vegetable leaves, and don't put too many leaves each time. The humidity of new vegetable leaves for insects should be increased, but it should not be placed in large quantities to prevent the feed from deteriorating and becoming moldy. During the breeding process of mealworms, some new and larger sources should be introduced every two or three generations to prevent the insects from getting worse due to inbreeding.

Mealworms have strong disease resistance, but diseases may occur if not managed properly or if the environment changes suddenly. Dry blight and soft rot are the more common ones: 1. Dry blight: This disease mostly occurs in hot and dry summers. The insect dries up from head to tail and turns black. Prevention and treatment methods: Feed more green vegetables; 2. Soft rot: This disease mostly occurs in the rainy season, when the air humidity is high, the feed becomes moldy and deteriorates, and the insects are injured and caused by bacterial infection. The pests move slowly, turn black and soft, and rot and die. Prevention and control methods: Keep the box (box) ventilated and dry, reduce or stop feeding green feed, do not feed moldy and spoiled feed, clean up residual bait and feces, isolate pests and diseases in a timely manner, and maintain a reasonable density.

The adult mealworms will not turn into flying insects. The white ones are the newly molted mealworms, which are the process of growing up.

1. Because the mealworms live in granaries, they go through After long-term degeneration, the emerged adults cannot fly, but can crawl (the crawling ability is not too great, and they cannot crawl out of ordinary paint pots), and they can lay eggs, usually on vegetable leaves. Auxiliary paper can also be produced on paper. The eggs are then placed in new feed to hatch larvae. That is, the "bugs" we feed SS.

2. When the larvae grow up, they usually need to molt four times before they can grow up (like a snake). After each molt, they become "white worms", which look really unsightly, like They look like maggots, but are rich in nutrients. They are no different from those that have not molted. They will grow into a hard shell within a day or two, so don't throw them away.

3. After the larvae pupates, I think it looks better than the larvae, like a sleeping baby. If you don’t want it to breed, you can also feed SS.

4. Black worms are dead larvae. If your feed is dry enough, the dried worms that weather quickly can also be fed to SS. I often feed dried worms like SS. But if you are not poor and stingy like me, this feeding method is not recommended, it is not very safe. Because once the dried insects are not dried properly and deteriorate, SS will be eaten to death. But my rat is very smart and knows what it can eat and what it can’t eat. It won’t move if it can’t eat it. I wonder if other rats have this ability. Anyway, I'd better throw it away, it's not worth much money.