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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Quantification of Humic and Fulvic Acids in Humate Ores, DOC, Humified Materials and Humic Substance-Containing Commercial Products
Published on: March 18, 2022
Protaetia brevitarsis larvae can efficiently convert herbaceous and ligneous plant residues to humic acids
Yimei Li1, Tong Fu1, Lili Geng1
1State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, PR China.
Abstract:
Utilization of the organic residues produced after crop harvesting is currently an important issue across the world. The edible insect Protaetia brevitarsis larvae can feed various organic matters. In this paper, we investigated the potential to utilize the insect to convert herbaceous and ligneous plant residues. We feed the insect larvae with maize straw and sawdust and analyzed the produced insect manure. P. brevitarsis larval was found to be able to digest both herbaceous and ligneous straw and insect manure extract shown no phytotoxicity. The mass fractions of humic acids (HAs) in the insect manure derived from maize straw and sawdust digestion were 24.37% and 14.46%, respectively. The 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (CP-MAS NMR) spectra data indicated that the HAs in the insect manure were similar to those found in the soil. These data suggested that P. brevitarsis larvae can be used to convert agricultural residues and produce organic fertilizers.
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