Professional insect rearing: Strategical points and management method

By Benoît R. Sorel

STRATEGICAL POINTS AND MANAGEMENT METHOD FOR PROFESSIONAL INSECT REARING

You wish to :
- start up a professional insect rearing ?
- upgrade your rearings and are looking for theoretical and practical ways for innovation ?
- increase the reliability and the adaptability of your rearings ?

In order to identify the specific characteristics of insect rearing systems and in order to evaluate and enhance your own experience, we propose a ready-to-use management method.

It is based on a unique combination of quality management according to A. Deming with elements of sociology of science and technology according to B. Latour. With this perspective, we can highlight the strategical points of professional insect rearing and help you identify rearing types and rearing techniques which are adapted to the variations of the production specifications.

The questions :
- How to use the entomological literature ?
- How to identify, prevent and deal with major difficulties ?
- How to manage insect’s quality ?
- How to create and preserve know-how ?
are explained on the theoretical level and illustrated with practical indications for the setup phase, the daily maintenance and the evolution of the rearings on the long term, in order to help you produce at all times insects of high quality.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Books on Demand
• Release date: Nov 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9782322020843

Benoît R. Sorel

Benoît R. Sorel est titulaire d'une maîtrise de biologie et d'un DEA d'histoire et de sociologie des sciences et des techniques. Il a d'abord travaillé comme technicien en expérimentation animale pour les tests de pesticides avant mise sur le marché (programme REACh norme GLP), en Allemagne. En 2012 il revient en France et enseigne les SVT en lycée et collège. En 2015 il démarre une activité de production et vente de légumes et petits fruits agroécologiques dans le centre Manche.

Book preview

TABLE OF CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

Insects in our modern society

The objective of professional insect rearing

Particularities of the activity of insect rearing

3.1. Rearing simulation

3.2. Strategical points

3.3. Definition of insect rearing management

3.4. Utility and limits of the specific literature

3.5. The difficulties of insect rearing

3.6. Terminology of insect rearing

Utility of a management method

PRELUDES

Definition of experience and know-how"

Insect rearing as a production system

2.1. The production specifications

2.2. The responsibilities of the project leader

2.3. The means of production

2.4. The resources

THE MANAGEMENT METHOD

Conceiving an adequate production system

1.1. Knowing the insects in situ

1.2. Choosing the rearing types

1.3. Choosing effective rearing procedures

Dealing with difficulties

2.1. The process of dealing with difficulties

2.2. Factors of causes

2.3. Categories of solutions

2.4. Possible outcomes

2.5. Worst-case difficulties

2.6. Sanitary issues

2.7. Working atmosphere: personnel management

2.8. Further practical indications

Summary of the preceding chapters

Acquiring theoretical understanding

4.1. Definition and utility

4.2. Models of the configuration of the rearing

4.3. Documentation of the production quality

Preserving and transmitting the knowledge

5.1. Situations of experience acquisition

5.2. Documentation of the experience

5.3. Managing knowledge

CONCLUSION

The principles of professional insect rearing

Professional versus hobby insect rearing

Academical knowledge

Pledge for a science of insect rearing

4.1. It increases the value of the enterprise

4.2. It improves the ethical responsibility

4.3. It improves the social recognition

LITERATURE

ABSTRACT

We present a management method for identifying and coordinating the inherent issues of professional insect rearing, meaning insect rearing submitted to material, financial and timely obligations of production. This method is valid for all insect species as well as for many arthropods and is not restrained to particular taxa. It is conceived to be used as a working document by the persons in charge of such rearings.

We explain that the activity of insect rearing is often reduced to biological and technical considerations, and that it lacks specific terminology in order to address economical considerations. We identify the economically strategical points of professional rearing and we identify the issues to be dealt with in order to take decisions at these strategical points on an objective basis. These issues are: the adequacy of the rearing to the production specifications, dealing with difficulties, theoretical understanding of the operation of the rear­ing and the creation and transmission of knowhow. These issues are generally not addressed in the entomological literat­ure.

We go into the details of the management method: it con­sists of systematically identifying and managing these issues in situ. The method is based on the combination of perspect­ives: quality management, scientific methodology, knowledge, experience and personnel management. Such a multidisciplin­ary approach allows us to identify the ins and outs of the issues cited above, and to propose a panel of practical indica­tions in order to correctly guide the rearing at the strategical points that is, for maintaining in the long term the quality of the produced insects whatever the changes of economical con ­text may be.

INTRODUCTION

1 Insects in our modern society

Insects production (and other arthropods such as spiders and mites) fulfils many functions in our modern society:

Agriculture and forestry

Production of insects as biological agents to be used against plant pests in the agriculture and in the forestry (for example parasitic wasps against aphids)

Production of insects with controlled phenotype, destined to be released in the nature in order to reduce the natural populations of plant pests (for example production of sterile males in order to reduce populations of fruit flies)

Production of insects for human food indirectly (bee rear­ing for honey production) or directly (depending on the culture of the country)

Production of insects for silk

Research

Production of insects for fundamental biological, ecolo­gical and chemical research purposes

Production of insects for applied biochemistry research: identification of molecules with interesting technical prop­erties (for example the proteins of spider webs)

Health

Production of insects as healing agents (wound healing with ants and fly larvae)

Production of insects which secrete healing substances (for example propolis from bees)

Production of insects with controlled phenotype, destined to be released in the nature in order to reduce the natural populations of pathogenic hosts (example