12 May 2022, ITALY (Turin) - Facility Research Center - Hermetia illucens is a diptera of the suborder Brachycera, belonging to the Stratiomydae family. The Stratiomydae are commonly called soldier flies, the appearance of the adults in fact recalls that of the military uniform due to the colored livery and the pigmented abdomen with transversal stripes. It is a species native to Central America and neotropical South America but in recent decades it has spread to all continents becoming cosmopolitan. Their greatest advantage is their ability to convert waste into food, generating new products and closing nutrient loops, reducing greenhouse gas emission and costs.

29 April 2022, ENEA - Ferdinando Baldacchino Entomologist and researcher at the ENEA Trisaia Research Center, Department of "Sustainability of the Territory and Production Systems", "BioProducts and BioProcess" Laboratory, looks a Tenebrio larva under the microscope. ENEA (National Agency for new Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) has populations of Tenebrio in breeding and experimentation activities aimed at optimizing and making the production a process sustainable, regardless of the destination of the final product ( feed or food intended for humans).

29 April 2022 - A sample of Tenebrio Molito flour bred with bran. In Basilicata, ENEA (National Agency for New Technologies, energy and sustainable economic development), at its "La trisaia" research center in Rodondella, has a breeding population of Tenebrio, through which it carries out experimental activities aimed at optimizing and making the production process sustainable, regardless of the destination of the final product ( feed or food intended for humans).

29 April 2022 - ENEA (National Agency for new Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) Research Centre Trisaia (Italy - Matera), Laboratory "BioProducts and BioProcesses" - 'Kjeldahl' - digestion unit : instrument used to measure the level of protein nitrogen of samples (bugs flour, substrates that insects eat). Through this tool it is possible to deduce the quantity of proteins present in the insect flour and the proteins ingested by the insects through the substrate.

13 August 2022 Rome (Italy) - Insectfarm - Crickets about one week old. Crickets live for about two and a half months. During their life they reach three different stages: egg, the neanic stage, and adult. For the first few weeks of life, they, like the eggs, should be kept in an isolated box, separate from the adult crickets and should be fed separately. After 8 weeks, the newborns can be considered adults and their size will vary between 20 and 30 mm, depending on the species.

12 May 2022, Italy (Turin) - Professor Laura Gasco of Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA) at the University of Turin (Italy) evaluates the effects of the inclusion of Hermetia illucens flours in the diet of rainbow trout. From 1st July 2017 insect meals can be used in feed in aquaculture. This was established by the European Commission, equating this protein source to that of poultry and pigs, the use of which has already been possible since 2013 (Reg. EC No 56/2013).

08 August 2022 - Lanuvio (Italy) InsectFarm – crickets on egg cartons. The so-called ‘house cricket’ (Acheta Domesticus) is the last of the three insects approved by the European Union, following the tenebrio molitor and the migratory locust Crickets. On the 7th July 2021 the EFSA expressed a favorable opinion and on the 10th February 2022 the "European Gazzetta Ufficiale" officially authorized the commercialization of the domestic cricket stating: "1- Frozen, dried and powder forms of Acheta domesticus, ..., shall be included in the Union list of uthorised novel foods established in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470. 2- For a period of 5 years from the date of entry into force of this Regulation, only the initial applicant, Fair Insects B.V, is authorised to place on the market within the Union the novel food..."

12 May 2022, ITALY (Turin) - CRT Fundation (Fondazione CRT), Torino, Italy. Researchers select the larvae of Hermetia illucens. CRT fund a project with a view to a circular economy, exploits four biomasses present in the Piedmont region (the NorthWest-Italy), through their bio-conversion carried out by the larvae of Hermetia illucens and verifies the potential of feeding meals obtained as raw materials.

12 May 2022, ITALY (Turin) - Black Soldier Fly Tents used in breeding. Hermetia illucens are breed in Department of Agricultural, Forestry, and Food Sciences (DISAFA ) at the University of Turin for the purpose of conducting research on the effects of introducing this insect into the diet of monogastric animals.

12 May 2022, ITALY (Turin) - Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences (DISAFA) at the University of Turin (Italy) is currently conducting European research on chicken farming. The chickens are fed with insect flour mixed with feed or with live whole insects. the aim is to demonstrate that the product obtained, that is chicken, is good, safe, sustainable and economical

26 February 2022, Lanuvio (Italy) - Insectfarm - Paolo de Besi, owner of Insectfarm, inside the cricket farm. Insectfarm is not a large farm, in fact it produces about 200 kg of crickets per month intended exclusively for pets. The farm develops in height using plastic boxes, where light materials are inserted (for example egg cartons), where the crickets can take refuge to reproduce and lay their eggs. In a cricket farm, the ideal is to guarantee about 2.5 cm² of space available for each cricket. Paol says he is very attentive to the evolution of the market and ready to expand towards human food when this is mature. The pet food market today is very thriving and Insectfarm sells its products to private companies and large retailers.

29 April 2022 - ENEA (National Agency for new Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) - Tenebrio Molitor samples in different forms: dried larvae, freeze-dried larvae, flour, to study their preservation. In Basilicata (Italy), at its research center "La trisaia" in Rodondella (MT), ENEA (National Agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development) has populations of Tenebrio in breeding and experimentation activities aimed at optimizing and making the production a process sustainable, regardless of the destination of the final product ( feed or food intended for humans).

02 May 2022 - Tenebrio Molitor larvae. In Basilicata (Italy), at its research center "La trisaia" in Rodondella (MT), ENEA (National Agency for new Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) has a Tenebrio Molito breeding. On 24th November 2020, the first EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) evaluation of a product proposed as a food derived from insects was published. This is the dried larva of Tenebrio Molitor, which has been added to the Union list of new authorized insects since 1 June (implementing regulation (EU) 2017/2470). The applicant, SAS EAP Group, is authorized to place the novel food on the EU market and has exclusivity for 5 years.