Bug Breeders Are Cultivating Waste-Guzzling Flies to Gobble Up America’s Trash
The tiny insects could simultaneously tackle three of the biggest environmental issues in the United States
Parked under an awning of trees in Camas, Washington, Doug Knippel’s converted semitruck trailer smells like strong, sour beer. It’s the scent of hundreds of pounds of barley, leftover from a local microbrewery, being devoured by young Hermetia illucens: black soldier fly larvae. Knippel dips his hand into a tray and comes back with a palmful of rice-sized organisms writhing through his fingers. “I’ve been composting since I was a kid. I love turning waste into something that’s usable,” he says. “I’m taking waste and I’m creating food from it instead of just soil.”
Knippel is one of a growing number of bug breeders rearing black soldier flies to help simultaneously tackle three of the biggest environmental issues in the United States: greenhouse gas emissions, irresponsible land use, and food waste. Black soldier fly larvae convert waste into a popular garden fertilizer: their poop, which is called frass. Chickens go wild for the later stages of larvae, which are fat with protein and oil and can be processed and sold as animal feed. Projections estimate the black soldier fly industry to be worth $2.57 billion…
