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/