The question is pertinent because I have long been embarked on an idea and that is to use cockroaches to process household waste. I keep three species: Aeluropoda insignis, Eublaberus spp. "ivory" and Blaptica dubia. I'm ruling out the latter because of its higher thermal requirements. I want a species that is voracious, do not climb too much (the Aeluropoda does but it is slow) or fly, non-selective, non-invasive and with not very high thermal requirements, that is, that can be raised at room temperature (~20ºC). I have determined that these animals eat on average half their weight per day, i.e. about 2 g to 20ºC. I need to have more data to see which species is more appropriate and how much I could consume. As there are many species and life is short I would like to contact people who are doing these studies and ask about their species and consumption rates.
Thank you
****************************************************************************
Daniel Patón
Numerical Ecology. Ecology Unit
Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences
Faculty of Sciences. University of Extremadura
Avda. Elvas s/n 06071 Badajoz (Spain)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2500-3964
https://cvn.fecyt.es/0000-0003-2500-3964
http://unex.academia.edu/DanielPatonDominguez
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel_Paton/
http://sites.google.com/site/numericalecologyuex/home
****************************************************************************
Woodlice have an appetite for willow foliage and potato peels.
Regards,
Joachim
Dear dr. Paton, why cockroaches? If it is house hold DEGRADABLE waste, then vermicomposting is a very good option. Cockroaches bring diseases and are down right yucky.
Dear Rajesh S Patil:
I think cockroaches are an excellent alternative and in China many farms are appearing to process garbage. The issue of pathogens is obviously a risk, but this problem can be minimised by early processing of waste at source. In addition, earthworms are more delicate to feed on some materials that are in fact poisonous to them such as meat, citrus peels, oils. They can only be processed in small quantities or with pre-composting.
I personally keep 600 cockroaches at home in a terrarium and they eat 1.5 kg of waste per day. We hardly produce any organic waste.
Regards
****************************************************************************
Daniel Patón
Numerical Ecology. Ecology Unit
Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences
Faculty of Sciences. University of Extremadura
Avda. Elvas s/n 06071 Badajoz (Spain)
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2500-3964
https://cvn.fecyt.es/0000-0003-2500-3964
http://unex.academia.edu/DanielPatonDominguez
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Daniel_Paton/
http://sites.google.com/site/numericalecologyuex/home
****************************************************************************
Great Dr. Paton, I was happy to learn new knowledge. But back here in India, roach killing pesticides are great business. Hope some one here does something similar to your work and give us new insights. Insect food is probably the next best thing. But it is still taboo here. Somehow there is a mismatch. People do not mind killing sheep, cows and other animals as food. But insects, again yucky :)
Thanks
Dear Rajesh:
Indeed, insects are taboo in many cultures. I see them more as the perfect waste processors and they can be diverted into sources of food for chickens, for example. However, they are useful in their own right as waste processors. At the moment this is a hobby for me, but I hope to publish some articles with my data soon so that we can discuss on a more solid base.
Thank you
Daniel
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Biological Science
- Botany
- Plant Biology