Harvesting insect pests for animal feed

Authors: Cohnstaedt, Lee; LADO, PAULA - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Ewing, Robert; Cherico, Jason; Wagner Iii, Roy; Brabec, Daniel - Dan; Shults, Phillip; CHASKOPAOULU, ALEXANDRA - European Biological Control Laboratory (EBCL)

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Research Notes
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/3/2024
Publication Date: 7/4/2024
Citation: Cohnstaedt, L.W., Lado, P., Ewing, R.D., Cherico, J.A., Wagner Iii, R.R., Brabec, D.L., Shults, P.T., Chaskopaoulu, A. 2024. Harvesting insect pests for animal feed. Journal of Economic Entomology. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae131.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toae131

Interpretive Summary: The lack of abundant and affordable high-quality protein for livestock is a common challenge on agricultural farms. Incorporating insects to diets will replace or reduce the use of expensive and unsustainable vegetable protein sources and fishmeal while providing high-quality protein. This paper reports the development and design of an insect trap (USDA-BHT) to be used to collect flying nuisance and insect pests from the environment with the objective of using the collected flying insects as a protein complement for animal diets. Trap design and components are described in detail, as well as trap functionality.

Technical Abstract: The demand for animal protein grows as the human population increases. Technological and genetic advances in traditional animal agriculture production will not produce enough protein to meet future needs without significant innovations such as the use of insects as protein sources. Insect farming is growing insects to produce high-quality protein for animal feed or human food, whereas insect harvesting is collecting insects from their natural habitats. Early hunter-gatherers developed special tools to improve insect harvesting which resulted in reduced effort and increased biomass harvest nonetheless the development of crop and animal agriculture more than 10,000 years ago reduced the need for insect harvesting as a protein and calorie source in much of the world. However, intensive agricultural environments produce tremendous quantities of pestiferous insects and with the right harvest technologies these insects can be used as a protein supplement in traditional animal daily rations. The United States Department of Agriculture – Biomass Harvest Trap (USDA-BHT) was developed to efficiently attract, harvest, and store insects from naturally abundant agricultural settings. A modular design allows for a low cost, easy to build and fix device that is user friendly and has customizable attractants to target various pest species. Here we present the design of the trap and the challenges such as insect biomass quantity, seasonal abundance and preservation, food safety, toxins, and other issues that need to be addressed before insect harvesting can be economically evaluated and harvested insects incorporated into animal feed. A return to insect harvesting needs to be considered given the need to produce animal protein in an environmentally friendly way and reduce insect abundance in intensive agricultural settings.