Black soldier flies mating helps food supply

The black soldier flies at EnviroFlight in Yellow Springs are lovers, not fighters.

At the company on North Walnut Street, insects mate in cages in an area called the “love shack.” Barry White plays on a constant loop as they mate.

This is not a weird science experiment or an obscure hobby. This is an eco-friendly business.

EnviroFlight uses the larvae of the flies to help cultivate the nutrients in food waste products. The larvae and the converted waste product are fed to farm-raised fish or other animals.

“We can actually take an insect, raise it, and its fat and protein structure looks like a wild-caught fish, which is the foundation for our aqua-culture diets and our early-stage pig starter diets,” said Glen Courtright, founder and CEO. “We’ve taken the ocean out of the equation.”

The company uses waste from breweries, ethanol production and other pre-consumer products as feedstock for the flies. EnviroFlight keeps the products from ending up in a landfill.

The larvae consume and convert the waste products, resulting in a high-protein, low-fat feed for fish and poultry, swine and cattle.

The larvae also are cooked, dried and converted into a meal that provides 40 percent protein and 46 percent fat, the company said. The insects also help provide omega-3 fatty acids.

The company said its products and breeding and nursery systems will help reduce the financial and environmental costs of the food supply, while producing nutrients in a “socially responsible way.”

The company is helping turn waste into feed-replacement alternatives that are environmentally sustainable.

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