EVO Conversion Systems - The Black Soldier Fly Company
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Consulting Services
  • Products
  • Consortium
  • About
    • Nature's Recycler
A Science Blog About

Black Soldier Fly

Conversion of Organic Material - A Question of Feed Rate to Optimize BSF Production

2/28/2018

0 Comments

 
So once again, I must apologize- but really for two things.

1. I am so sorry it has been a couple of weeks since I last wrote a post for the blog. I feel like I have been missing out on great conversation with friends from around the world when I do not post frequently.  

2. I started a new record system so I can keep up with the papers/topics that I discuss in each post. What does this mean? Well, it keep me from being too redundant by discussing the same articles over and over again.  So, please accept my apologies (again) if I am about to review a paper that I had previously discussed.... but I will say- if I am discussing the same paper again, it is because I think so highly of it! So highly, I feel it is necessary to review it again.

Today's paper for discussion is (drumroll please):

Diener, S., C. Zurbrugg, and K. Tockner. 2009. Conversion of organic material by black soldier fly larvae: establishing optimal feeding rates. Waste Management Research 27: 603-610.

This is a great paper by my friend and colleague Dr. Stefan Diener!  (A little back story- Stefan and I met a number of years ago... probably a decade or more when he came to visit me in Texas. He spent a few days meeting with me and discussing BSF as well as enjoying good Texas BBQ (if you visit Texas, here is a list of the best BBQ places). We have been good friends ever since!  He is such a leader in the development of the BSF for waste management and protein production.  I have so much respect for him!)

Now - how about his paper?

The take-home message from his study is feed rate matters (I am pretty sure we have talked about this before).  In this study, they fed BSFL a standard diet at different rates. They determined that there is a threshold at which overfeeding the BSFL occurs. There are a couple of key points here.

1. Feed rate will be dictated by what you feed them (some diets can be provided at much higher rates than others- for example, vegetable waste vs meat by-products).
2. Overfeeding can result in larval mortality as the larvae cannot digest it fast enough to prevent pathogen proliferation.
3. Overfeeding will reduce BSFL conversion rates.
4. Underfeeding will prolong larval development.
5. All diets need to be tested to determine an optimal rate.

Well... hopefully I am still on track in terms of providing useful information. I will start digging through my citations to review every paper on BSF that I have filed away... from the earliest to the latest. That way- you can develop your library too!

All the best,
Jeff Tomberlin, PhD, BSF librarian
Twitter: @FliesFacility
Director, EVO Conversion Systems

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Individuals with over 25 years research experience with the black soldier fly. We are passionate about the science behind the black soldier fly and its ability to convert waste to protein.


    ​Get Notified Here

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017

    Categories

    All
    Author Dr. Heather Jordan
    Author Dr. Jeff Tomberlin
    Author-dr-jonathan-cammack
    Author Spring Yang
    News
    Science Paper Review

    Install an RSS app to get notified from us when a new post is up!

Services

Consulting

Support

Contact

About

About Us
Black Soldier Fly
Picture
Picture
© COPYRIGHT 2016. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Consulting Services
  • Products
  • Consortium
  • About
    • Nature's Recycler