Making a meal of a bug’s life
The couple named their block The Little Insect Farm. They're planning to make it the HQ for a venture into farming edible insects.
“A big part of our dream for the future is we want to start growing insects on a commercial scale,” says Melissa.
“It’s another way to increase sustainability – no way will the world be able to keep up with our protein demands the way we’re going.”
They’re close to launching a commercial operation to serve an appetite for organically reared, protein-packed products.
“Insects are the ultimate food,” says Melissa. “They’re full of protein, they use a fraction of the water of other foods to produce, and they’re easy to grow in a small space. It’s a win-win.”
During the last Taranaki Garden Festival, their taste tests were so popular, she had to cook up extra freeze-dried mealworms each day.
“I dry roast them. If people are funny about eating insects, you can grind them into a powder for putting in smoothies or anything really.”
Mealworms are the larvae of a beetle called Tenebrio molitor. In Southeast Asia, they’re commonly found in food markets and sold as street food, along with other edible insects. Western countries are in the minority as non-insect-eaters – 70 million people around the world eat insects on a regular basis.
In New Zealand, many people buy freeze-dried mealworms for pet birds and lizards, and they’re a good food source for native birds.
“I set up a mealworm breeding project at Rotokare for feeding birds that are being translocated.”
At present, the family’s mealworm ‘farm’ is a set of plastic drawers, with one space for each part of the insects’ life cycle. The larvae feed on oat bran, with sliced carrots or apple to provide moisture. They’re harvested and frozen before they pupate.
About 20 percent are left to develop into adults for future breeding. The waste the larvae produce, called frass, looks like pale sand and is a useful fertiliser.
Lucas, who is home-schooled, won lots of awards in the Taranaki Science Fair last year for his project comparing frass with traditional commercial fertilisers.
“He found no difference in lots of areas for germination rates and growth.”
The couple plan to set up the insect breeding business in insulated shipping containers. Once they get the project going, they’ll add locusts or crickets to their ‘crops.’
“We'll use the frass as a fertiliser to grow food for them,” says Melissa. “We’re hoping for a circular business model, with as little waste as possible.”