REVIEW article
Front. Insect Sci.
Sec. Insect Economics
3D printing approaches to simulate natural diets for insects with implications for domestication and mass-rearing
Provisionally accepted
- 1Instituto de Ecología (INECOL), Xalapa, Mexico
- 2Tecnologico de Monterrey Escuela de Ingenieria y Ciencias, Monterrey, Mexico
- 3NC State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Raleigh, United States
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Many insect species that could benefit humanity cannot be reared or domesticated because of the lack of adequate artificial diets. In the case of insect pests which are controlled via the Sterile Insect Technique, the prospects of improving biological traits of mass-reared individuals hinge on the development of new diet formulations. 3D food printing technology holds unique potential to create customized artificial diets simulating the shape, texture, and distribution of nutrient and non-nutrient components (e.g., dietary fiber and secondary metabolites) of natural insect foods. We present an overview on the use of state-of-the-art 3D printing technology to develop artificial diets that mimic the dynamic nature of natural insect diets, characterized by compartmentalized food components. The challenges and limitations of 3D food printing technology for its application in the field of diet development and artificial insect rearing are discussed, and future research priorities are highlighted. Examples are provided of beneficial and pestiferous insect species that could be reared on 3D-printed diets such as the cocoa pod borer and tephritid flies.
Keywords: 3D printing, State-of-the-art technology, diet development, customized diet, Domestication, sterile insect technique, insect rearing
Received: 27 Jul 2025; Accepted: 24 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Pascacio-Villafán, Tejada-Ortigoza, Cohen and Aluja. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Carlos Pascacio-Villafán, carlos.pascacio@inecol.mx
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