I thought I would share this book chapter that recently was put online by the authors. It is from the book that Arnold van Huis and I edited and had published this year.

Insects as Food and Feed: From Production to Consumption

The Title of the Chapter is: Breeding and Maintaining High-Quality Insects (please note you will need to be part of researchgate to access the document)

Authors & Affiliations are as Follows: Kim Jensen1,2, Torsten N. Kristensen1,3, Lars-Henrik L. Heckmann4, Jesper G. Sørensen3*
1 Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Section for Biology and Environmental Science, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
2 Department of Bioscience, Section for Terrestrial Ecology, Aarhus University, Vejlsøvej 25, 8600 Silkeborg, Denmark
3 Department of Bioscience, Section for Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, Building 1540, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
4 Life Science Division, Danish Technological Institute, Kongsvang Allé 29, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark

If you have any questions, please find the email address for the corresponding author listed on the webpage.


The chapter reviews different aspects of breeding and production- some things you might not have considered from a more theoretical perspective (gene x environment interactions as an example). But the chapter does give good food for thought. 

As stated by the authors in the chapter (credit given to authors for their writing copied and pasted below):
1. development of diets to meet species

2. optimization of feeding frequency 

3. optimization of reproductive output 
​

4. optimization of juvenile density to enable optimum biological temperature in the production trays 

5. increasing production output

​6. reduction of disease risk

EVO Conversion Systems would like to welcome its newest member of its consortium- Cosmic Landscapes of Texas. 

This partnership completes the cycle in our College Station, Texas facility. All material received is digested and used.  Larvae are used to produce protein and fat. And the remaining residue is now used as a compost.  

We are really excited as we have a complete system in place- producing no wastes, while producing products and protecting the environment.

EVO is proud to announce Dr. Patrizia Falabella with the University of Basilicata in Italy as part of our consortium. Her lab focuses on insect physiology- specifically with regards to chemical ecology. What is really great about her research is her lab members explore everything from the gene to the behavior demonstrated. This work could be crucial for understanding how BSF detect and locate resources for colonization as well as mate perception.  

We look forward to working with Patrizia and her lab members to enhance our understanding of BSF biology and its application in sustainable agriculture.

We are excited to announce ProtiCycle in South Africa has partnered with EVO Conversion Systems. We look forward to working with them and establishing standard methods for the production of quality BSF throughout the world!

EVO is now active on all major continents excluding Antartica- but who knows what the future will hold even there!!

A paper came out last night that covers a topic of major interest to the BSF community and others interested in green technology. While oil prices may not be $100/barrel as in the past, I believe this topic is still of major interest and should be investigated more thoroughly. A simple Google search with the term "bioenergy" demonstrates the interest in this topic with countless articles and news stories being written on the topic.

Based on what I understand from past research, BSF has tremendous potential for use as a means to produce bioenergy along with protein, while protecting the environment and conserving food.

The article, which just came out in the journal, Renewable Energy, is:

Feng, W., L. Qian, W. Wang, T. Wang, Z. Deng, F. Yang, J. Xiong, and C. Wang. Exploring the potential of lipids from black soldier fly: New paradigm for biodiesel production (II)—Extraction kinetics and thermodynamic. Renewable Energy.

Basic Overview: We all recognize BSF can be mass produced for protein. And, resulting BSF larvae are also high in fat (30% based on some accounts). Because of their high fat content, there have been efforts to harvest these fats and produce bio-energy.

Findings: What did I find? I found this paper to be extremely challenging for me to follow- but I think that is more to do with my background being ecology and behavior. But, what did determine is the lipids/fat could be extracted with a solvent and the level (efficiency) of extraction was temperature dependent. Simply stated, there was a temperature that resulted in the greatest level of fat extraction from the BSF meal when using a liquid solvent (chloroform was better for extracting than petroleum or hexane). Elevating the temperature by 10C (above a minimal threshold, I believe) increased the extraction ratio by one.

This was a  tough read, as I mentioned earlier, but something to keep in mind... simply from the perspective of, 1) fats from BSF could be used for bio-energy production, and 2) knowing there are competent researchers out there doing this type of work. I know I am grateful for their efforts! :) 

With that in mind, the authors also published this paper in the same journal if you are interested:

Wang, C., L. Qian, W. Wang, T. Wang, Z. Deng, F. Yang, J. Xiong, and W. Feng. 2017. Exploring the potential of lipids from black soldier fly: New paradigm for biodiesel production (I). Renewable Energy 111: 749-756.