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These two insects, along with crickets and locusts, are the most common to raise. If you're thinking about starting a farm, you might wonder which one to begin with. In this article, I'll try to explain the differences between them.
Tenebrio Molitor
The Tenebrio molitor is an insect primarily used for human consumption or live feed. Despite what some companies claim about their market being farm animals, fish farms, or pet food, the reality is that they can't compete on price.
The Tenebrio has a complete cycle of 90 days, from egg to pupa. Generally, it's best to cut the cycle around day 70-80. However, you need to keep part of the production to turn into pupae and beetles to repopulate the farm.
With such a long cycle, the production cost is high. This makes it very difficult to compete in animal markets. For example, fishmeal costs around 1700-1800€ per ton. Considering that to make a ton of insect meal, you need about 4 tons of live Tenebrios, you can see it's not easy to compete.
However, it has been approved by the EU for human consumption, and it's possible to sell it for such use. Although it's worth noting that one company has a legally granted monopoly by the European Union until 2026 to sell Dehydrated and Flours for human consumption. This is because this company sponsored the studies that proved Tenebrio was safe for human consumption.
Therefore, now the Tenebrio market, if you can't sell for human consumption yet, and it's too expensive for livestock, the remaining market is live feed. This insect is ideal for reptiles, birds, and similar animals. You can sell to zoos, bird sanctuaries, and similar places, but the market is small and logistics are complicated because you have to ship them alive.
Black Soldier Fly
The Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) or better known as BSF, has a 14-day cycle. This makes it ideal for livestock, fish farms, and pet food. It has a similar protein content, with some flours exceeding 60%.
With this insect, you'll be able to price close to fishmeal. It also has many benefits for animals; according to studies, it decreases mortality in some fish, reduces stress in other farm animals, and much more.
For this reason, this animal is ideal for that sector. Additionally, BSF is also used as a bioconverter to turn organic and vegetable waste into frass and protein.
If you want more advice, don't hesitate to contact Insectius.