Creating Food and Processing Waste with Black Soldier Flies

I am really excited about this article I saw on CNN.  A sexy, sleek design for a Black Soldier Fly culturing appliance is in development and is intended to bring counter top composting to a new level.  Designer Katharina Unger, a recent graduate from the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and current Fulbright Scholar, devoted her thesis project, called Farm 432: Insect Breeding, to developing an appliance that incubates insects for human consumption.  She would like to see more efficient use of nutrient streams to help reduce worldwide food demands.  Rising populations, combined with degradation of farm land, loss of topsoil and peak oil, mean that we will soon be unable to provide food for future populations.  Creative solutions like these might be the only thing standing between us and starvation in the near future.

I have been raving about black soldier fly or 'BSF' for some time.  It seems that they are starting to catch on in the mainstream as well.  There are so many benefits to these amazing creatures that one could elaborate on the subject indefinitely.  My experience is somewhat limited, but I did have a small colony for a while and intend to start a larger one within a few weeks.  The benefits are many and the drawbacks few to none.  Their efficiency speaks for itself and their potential as feed, bio fuel, natural preservatives, nutraceuticals and management of waste streams is a potent combination.  Insects are a major food source for most of the world.  It remains to be seen how long it will take Western culture to catch up with the rest of the world on this subject.  Either by choice or necessity.

There is so much to say about this wonderful creature, but some of the more obvious benefits that come to mind are listed below.

1)      One square meter of BSF feeding surface can process up to 15kg of organic waste daily.

3)      The pre-pupatic larvae are self harvesting when they are at their peak value.  If supplied with a ramp, they will climb out of the media and into a container in search of a place to pupate.  This is also evident by their change to a dark brown or almost black color.

5)      BSF have an amazing food to biomass conversion rate of 24%.  This means that for every 4lbs of food consumed (dry weight), 1lb of larval pre-pupae can be cultured (dry weight).

7)      They are not a disease vector since the adults do not eat and do not have any mouth parts.  The adults only live for 5-8 days and die after breeding.

8)      BSF keep other fly species at bay through pheremones that advertise their presence.  Other species have no chance of competing and inherently know to move on.

b)      BSF pheremones on site can disrupt the life cycle of parasitic flies in pasture systems.

d)     House flies and fruit flies do not generally frequent areas with healthy BSF populations.

10)  Black Soldier Fly are 45% protein (dry weight) and are an excellent source of feed for chickens, fish, hogs and other livestock.

12)  The composition of whole unseparated Hermetia prepupae meal (dry weight) is 35% lipid.  Besides being a source of nutrition, this amount of fat makes them a valuable source of oil for distilling bio-diesel fuel.

14)  The nutrient value of BSF can be manipulated thorough feeding regimes to create large amounts of valuable lipids such as Omega 3 fatty acids, increasing their value as a source of designer feeds and neutraceuticals.

 

16)  They are anti-microbial and secrete substances which suppress bacterial activity in organic waste.

b)      Their shed exoskeletons can be used to dress wounds and prevent infection.

d)     Live larvae can be applied directly to wounds to clean necrotic flesh and suppress mild infections.

f)       Dried and powdered BSF can be added to food as a preservative.

h)      Dried and powdered BSF can be used to deactivate the fermentation process.

j)        SF meal lipids contain about 54% lauric acid which has been shown to be active against lipid coated viruses, including HIV virus, measles virus, clostridium, and many pathogenic protozoa.

18)  The feeding action of the larvae help waste to remain aerobic and prevent foul smells.  This also serves to prevent the formation of methane and sulfur dioxide.

20)  BSF can speed up or slow down their life cycle from 1 to 9 months based on temperature conditions and food availability.

22)  Effluent byproduct can be used as a fertilizer to be added to compost, added to a vermiculture bin, or used as a compost tea directly on plants.

24)  BSF can process organic waste of any type including but not limited to the following

b)       Food Scraps

d)      Meat/Carrion

f)       Dairy

h)      Feces

j)        Manure

l)        Yards Waste (Partially processed then vermicomposted) 

 

It should be noted that if eating BSF you would not want to feed them feces.  Pathogen cycles can be very resilient and we would advise putting more 'trophic distance' between you and your waste!

We have previously posted about using insects as a food source for animals and people.

Ladies and Gentleman - The Amazing Black Soldier Fly
Cricket Protein Used To Make Protein Bar
Insects as Food for People and Livestock

For more information on this, contact us directly.  The Black Soldier Fly Blog is also a great place to get information on culturing these useful creatures.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/15/tech/innovation/insect-larva-food-appliance
http://www.opb.org/news/blog/ecotrope/using-soldier-flies-to-compost-food-scraps/
http://biosystemsblog.com/black-soldier-fly/
http://www.organicvaluerecovery.com/our_process/our_process_product_breakdown.htm http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/

Woodpecker Populations Respond To The Emerald Ash Borer Infestation

Red Bellied Woodpecker

From the parasitic flies that prey on fire ants to fungal parasites that kill tent caterpillars and beyond,  a pattern is emerging of ecological responses to invasive species and infestations.  When given the opportunity, nature is capable of balancing systems which seem hopelessly unmanageable from an anthropogenic standpoint.  Allowing nature to correct its own issues is generally the most pragmatic solution to these types of problems.  The traditional slash, burn and spray techniques are becoming a thing of the past, as they should be.

The emerald ash borer is an exotic beetle whose larvae feed on the inner cambium layer of ash trees.  They can effectively girdle a tree, cutting off the flow of moisture and nutrients with its roots.  The infestation began in Michigan and has spread at an astonishing rate.  It has spread far beyond Michigan and any attempts to control it have met with failure.  However, a pattern of increased woodpecker populations in the areas where the beetle populations are highest.  This makes perfect sense since the larvae are perfectly edible and nutritious.  Increasing numbers of these birds are beginning to suppress beetle populations.

Four species of birds have been noted.  The red bellied woodpecker and the white breasted nuthatch (a bark gleaning species) showed population increases very early on.  More recently in 2009 both the downy and hairy woodpeckers have started to show population increases as well.  Since not one, but four species are showing increased numbers, its quite apparent that a robust ecological response is developing.  The emerald ash borer shows great promise as an important food species for these bird species in the future.

the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker – as well as the white-breasted nuthatch, a common bark-gleaning species that is also a potential predator of EAB.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-woodpecker-populations-linked-feasting-emerald.html#jCp

the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker – as well as the white-breasted nuthatch, a common bark-gleaning species that is also a potential predator of EAB.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-woodpecker-populations-linked-feasting-emerald.html#jCp

the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker – as well as the white-breasted nuthatch, a common bark-gleaning species that is also a potential predator of EAB.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-woodpecker-populations-linked-feasting-emerald.html#jCp

the downy woodpecker, hairy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker – as well as the white-breasted nuthatch, a common bark-gleaning species that is also a potential predator of EAB.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2013-08-woodpecker-populations-linked-feasting-emerald.html#jCp

It remains to be seen if this will be effective enough to allow recovery in devastated forests, but it does provide a measure of hope.  Additionally, parasitic wasps and fungal pathogens which prey on the emerald ash borer have been released by the U.S. Department of agriculture and have managed to become established in the wild.  Perhaps this multi-pronged approach will be enough to bring the beetle numbers down to manageable levels.  This is yet another example of how a biology-based, holistic approach is generally far more effective than anything else.

My main concern is not the increased bird populations, but the release of non-endemic parasites and biological controls, which can have unintended consequences.  If the parasitic wasp makes the jump to utilizing native beetles, than this could cause more problems than it solves.  In the case of the kudzu bug, the pest species was able to make the jump from kudzu to soybean.  There is no reason to think that parasitic wasps or fungus are not capable of similar adaptations.  It remains to see how this is going to play out.

http://phys.org/news/2013-08-woodpecker-populations-linked-feasting-emerald.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110426111415.htm
http://phys.org/news/2013-08-tree-killing-insect-emerald-ash-borer.html

See some of our previous entries on similar subjects:

Mutualism Is More Than Two Species Working Together
Kudzu Bug Jumps Ship And Invades Soybean Fields
Invasive Crab Species Returns Balance To Marsh Ecosystem
Gypsy Moth Problem Beginning To Resolve Itself

Cricket Bar

It is really good to see that some people in Western culture are starting to utilize insects as a protein source.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/23/smallbusiness/cricket-bar/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Worms Help To Control Slugs

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Unknown_slug_on_rhubarb.jpg

We are all aware of the benefits that earthworms offer.  Nutrient availability, aeration, nutrient cycling, microbe diversity, water infiltration, retention, and drainage, the list goes on and on.  It appears that earthworms also have a profound affect on slug populations and possibly other pest species as well.

The presence of earthworms causes plants to uptake nitrogen compounds which are toxic to slugs.  A controlled study shows that slugs can be reduced up to 60% in plots with healthy worm populations.  Combined with various degrees of increased plant diversity, the slug population can be decreased an additional 40% beyond this.  This one-two punch can result in an overall reduction in slugs of close to 80%.

If you want additional slug control, a diverse ecosystem will provide predators such as snakes and lizards.  Ducks have been known to be incredible at pest control in additional to their many other benefits.  Frogs, centipedes, beetles, birds and a myriad of other species can help to further suppress slug numbers to the point that they are more of a curiosity than a nuisance.

This just continues to highlight the fact that a stable and diverse ecosystems-based approach provides free natural protection with minimal inputs.  Healthy invertebrate populations serve to balance out predator/prey, parasitic, mutually inclusive/exclusive and symbiotic relationships.  There is no reason to think that this type of dynamic is not happening all throughout any complex food web.

Systems will never be perfect and some losses will occur.  But in addition to increasing (rather than decreasing fertility over time) the amount of labor and input saved will far outweigh any losses.  In the end it will end this is the best, most viable option for land management.  The increasing fertility of an ecology-based approach will end up increasing yields in the long term as well as the value of the land.

http://phys.org/news/2013-05-invasion-slugshalted-worms.html