Chapter 13 - Darkling Beetles

There can easily be two million darkling beetles and larvae in a broiler house. Taking the average beetle size (~6 mm long, 100 mg), and even assuming that beetles convert feed as well as broilers, the bug load could easily cost one point of feed conversion in stolen feed alone.

Chicks are happy to consume beetles instead of feed. Chicks have been documented to consume more than 400 beetles and/or larvae per day. This inhibits feed efficiency and may cause other intestinal problems (impaction, etc.). Beetles may pester broilers, causing unnecessary movement and again reducing feed efficiency. Heavy infestations can kill debilitated or weakened chicks, especially if the beetles are moisture starved. Moisture starved beetles may crawl onto chicks and chew at the skin at the base of the feathers. Such infestations can be mistaken for skin leukosis in the plant. Heavy loads may predispose to gangrenous dermatitis.

Darkling beetles can severely damage wood and insulation in a poultry house. The annual economic loss per house per growout is estimated at $150. Most of this is from loss of insulation and replacement/repair cost over the life of the house.

Darkling beetles have been shown to act as either biological or mechanical vector for a wide variety of poultry diseases. These include, but are not limited to, Gumboro disease, Marek’s Disease, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Aspergillosis, Reoviruses, E. coli, and coccidial oocysts.