The keeping of beneficial insects is actually not new, because feed breeders have been successfully keeping and breeding some species for decades in order to meet the needs of keepers of insect-eating pets.
Most of the insect species kept here can be used as food as well as food, so they are also edible for humans. Although a feed cricket has the same requirements for keeping as a food cricket, there are specific requirements for the breeding of food-producing animals that must be observed, especially in the area of hygiene.
The advantages of breeding over collecting in the wild are obvious for most species:
- Preservation of natural populations - but also protection of the animals that traditionally prey on these insects, e.g. birds, spiders, amphibians, reptiles, etc.
- Control over the production process, e.g. targeted feeding
- Consumer protection, especially in the area of chemical residues in the environment.
The TiHo insectarium offers the possibility of researching and documenting production cycles in a small space and serves as a model for larger farms.
Beneficial insects are currently bred around the world in four basic housing systems:
- Xiro culture: Keeping in a predominantly dry environment, e.g. crickets, grasshoppers and black beetles
- Hygro culture: Keeping in a predominantly moist environment, e.g. larval stages of the soldier fly
- Aquaculture: Keeping in aquariums or aqua terrariums, e.g. water bugs and beetles
- Xyloculture: keeping wood-eating species in trunks or buckets with chips from the host plant, e.g. bamboo borer (Omphisa fuscidentalis) or sago worms (Rhynchophorus ferruguineus)
In Germany, only the first two types of husbandry currently play a role.