Beetles and some other holometabolic insects could possibly be a better idea in some ways than crickets/grasshoppers when thinking about it.
Holometabolic insects are ones where the offspring [larvae] undergo complete metamorphosis from something grub/caterpillar like to the adult insect. So beetles, butterflies/moths, flies, etc.
Hemimetabolic are ones where offspring [nymphs] look similar to adults however the nymphs are not sexually mature and do not have wings if the adults do.
While both larvae and nymphs mostly only exist to consume food until reaching a point they become sexually mature adults in the case of holometabolic offspring they are more or less nothing but eating machines with mass stores wrapped in a bag. Nymphs will have various other structures matching the adults like legs, a fully developed carapace, and other parts which are less efficient for anything that then eats them. So a billion beetle grubs would possibly produce better mass yields per organism than a grasshopper, especially when considering the largest beetles in the world can produce grubs that approach 3-4 ounces/100g in mass, like the goliath beetle grub.
Still, people outside of Asia are highly unlikely to eat such a thing as is hence why Western attempts involving processing and repackaging into bars, powder, and whatever else.
Additionally as locusts are the typical swarm and plaque insect because of how destructive they are it could be the suggested plans by some groups are dependent on the growth medium they intend to provide which larvae would be unable to digest while grasshopper nymphs would just demolish anything near them, like goats do.
That kinda makes sense. Many beetles (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blister_beetle) and true bugs (e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_marmorated_stink_bug) have defensive secretions which at best smell and taste horrible and at worst are dangerous. I guess stinging insects like bees and wasps also "have wings and crawl".
Beetles and some other holometabolic insects could possibly be a better idea in some ways than crickets/grasshoppers when thinking about it.
Holometabolic insects are ones where the offspring [larvae] undergo complete metamorphosis from something grub/caterpillar like to the adult insect. So beetles, butterflies/moths, flies, etc.
Hemimetabolic are ones where offspring [nymphs] look similar to adults however the nymphs are not sexually mature and do not have wings if the adults do.
While both larvae and nymphs mostly only exist to consume food until reaching a point they become sexually mature adults in the case of holometabolic offspring they are more or less nothing but eating machines with mass stores wrapped in a bag. Nymphs will have various other structures matching the adults like legs, a fully developed carapace, and other parts which are less efficient for anything that then eats them. So a billion beetle grubs would possibly produce better mass yields per organism than a grasshopper, especially when considering the largest beetles in the world can produce grubs that approach 3-4 ounces/100g in mass, like the goliath beetle grub.
Still, people outside of Asia are highly unlikely to eat such a thing as is hence why Western attempts involving processing and repackaging into bars, powder, and whatever else.
Additionally as locusts are the typical swarm and plaque insect because of how destructive they are it could be the suggested plans by some groups are dependent on the growth medium they intend to provide which larvae would be unable to digest while grasshopper nymphs would just demolish anything near them, like goats do.