Protein is an essential component in animal feed, but there are environmental and health concerns about
existing sources. Insects provide alternative protein, as well as other nutrients, in a sustainable and natural way.
Insects are part of a natural diet for foraging farm animals such as chickens, and they can be raised on waste
from other industries such as spent beer grains or vegetable pulp from juice production. Insects need less food
to produce protein, use less space, less water, and make less waste too. The overall goal of this project is to
optimize the production of yellow mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) for use as feed in organic chicken
production. Specific goals are to:
1. test brewery waste, mixed grains and vegetable pulp or combinations thereof, as feedstocks to determine
which promotes the fastest growth of mealworms;
2. test different configurations of trays or other containers to develop the most space efficient method for mass
rearing mealworms, and determine the optimal rearing density of larvae; and
3. measure protein, fat, calcium and iron levels in different larval stages to determine the optimal stage for
harvest.
Ofbug has already established a baseline mealworm rearing system at their facility in Surrey, BC, and have
developed a small but growing customer base among local organic chicken producers. Mass insect production
for animal feed is a fledgling industry in Canada. Ofbug aspires to be a part of that industrial landscape,
focusing on organic chicken production, but to do so, its' production of mealworms must be viable and
profitable. The project will enhance their ability to scale up and optimize their mealworm production system.