Growth and ingestion data for house crickets reared at ad libitum conditions

In order to calibrate and evaluate a newly developed model for individual growth, the Maintenance-Growth Model (MGM), temporal data for body mass and ingestion was collected for male and female house crickets (Acheta domesticus) reared individually from birth to ultimate size at 28.6 °C under ad libitum conditions. 

Methods
Newly hatched nymphs of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) were collected, weighted, and reared individually in plastic boxes under ad libitum conditions and a temperature of 28.6 °C for 72 days. A controlled amount of food was provided twice a week, when the cricket as well as remaining food and faecal, were measured by weight. Age at imago emergence was recorded for each individual cricket. At some occasions, faeces were separated from the remaining food and weighted separately (in order to estimate the relative egestion rate). At the end of the experiment, useful data for 35 individuals (14 males, 21 females) had been produced. The ingestion between two measurements was calculated based on the known food supply and the remaining material, with compensation for moisture uptake in food and egestion. See the related manuscript for a detailed description of the experimental setup.