A black soldier fly trial at the Università di Torino. The color and frequency of light play a crucial role in optimizing BSF reproduction, 2022.

Chapulines (grasshoppers) served as a side dish at a Southern Mexican restaurant in California, 2024. Mexico, particularly the state of Oaxaca, has one of the most robust insect culinary traditions.

A black Soldier fly trial at the Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte (IRBI), France, 2023. The black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) has captured the attention of researchers and environmentalists due to its exceptional bioconversion capabilities . Native to Latin America, this insect has now spread to almost every region of the planet.

An industrial cricket rearing system in a small company Thailand, 2023. Crickets are among the most common insects consumed by humans. In Southeast Asia, these insects have been captured for consumption for a very long time and are still widely harvested in the wild. However, as with other species such as fish, natural populations are declining. Farming insects also plays a role in mitigating the loss of biodiversity.

Chickens receiving black soldier fly larvae. AETCR Las Colinas, Guaviare, Colombia, 2023.

Behavioral tests on insects at the Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte (IRBI), France, 2024.

A pioneering industrial black soldier fly rearing system in Italy in 2019.

Former FARC-EP guerrilla fighters and indigenous people at work at the “Insectos Por La Paz” facility at the AETCR Las Colinas, Guaviare, Colombia, 2022. “Insectos Por La Paz” is a social initiative created by a young woman: Karol Barragàn Fonseca, professor at the Universidad Nacional De Colombia. Her project promotes the reintegration of former members of the “Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People’s Army” (FARC-EP) and supports the livelihoods of indigenous people and those affected by the conflict training them to become smallholder insect producers.

Colombia has been involved in a conflict for more than 60 years. Agricultural projects like "Insectos Por La Paz, that benefit the reincorporated population are a key element of the Peace Agreement. Moreover: in Colombia insect agriculture could play a role within the PNIS, the program that aims to give legal and sustainable alternatives to the coca leaf monoculture. (2022)

An ex FARC-EP guerrillero, who lost his hands due to a mine accident, catching a fish fed with black soldier fly larvae. AETCR Las Colinas, Guaviare, Colombia, 2023.

A woman who was part of the FARC-EP, working at the “Insectos Por La Paz” facility in the Tolima region, 2022.

Avocados cultivated using insect "frass" - residuals and uneaten substrate - as biofertilizer. AETCR Las Colinas, Guaviare, Colombia, 2023.

Inside a Black Soldier Fly industrial production site in Malaysia, 2023. Asia, in particular, has become a focal point for insect farming because of its ideal tropical conditions and high volumes of organic byproducts from agricultural and urban centers.

Unsold food collected from supermarkets to feed black soldier fly larvae at a small company in Bangkok, Thailand, in 2023.

Inside a Thai small cricket farm, Thailand, 2023.

High speed cameras used to capture insect flying patterns at the Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte (IRBI), France, 2023.

Testing insect residues as biofertilizers at the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Technology and Bioeconomy, Potsdam, Germany, 2024.

Black soldier fly analysis at the microbiology laboratory of the Leibniz-Institut für Agrartechnik und Bioökonomie, Potsdam, Germany, 2024. Integrating black soldier fly feed can reduce the use of antibiotics, improving livestock health, as they are naturally rich in antimicrobial peptides. Promising new studies also highlight potential pharmaceutical applications for humans to help mitigate the alarming issue of antibiotic resistance.