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.
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
Research
Health
Leisure
In comparison with traditional rearings (such as cattle rearing for example), insect rearing more diverse, and unexpected, functions, but it remains a niche activity. There exist some syndicates of producers: Producers of insects as biological agents are represented on the international level by the Invertebrate Biocontrol Agents (IBCA) group of the International Biocontrol Manufacturer Association (IBMA) and by the International Organisation of Biocontrol (IOBC).
Asides from these professional insect rearings exist amateur rearings, made by private persons, schools or associations. Example of such rearings can be found on www.insectclopedia.com.
2 The objective of professional insect rearing
It is the following one: to produce insects of constant high quality, in other words insects that constantly fulfil the product specifications, even when these specifications vary. The product specifications are the characteristics of the insects which are required by the client or the future user of the insects. These characteristics (for example quantity, development stage, sex-ratio, fertility, emerging date...) ensure that the insects will conform to their future use (for example as biological agents in greenhouses, as live food for animals, as exhibition specimens expected to fly among the visitors of a zoo...) The client or the future user should not be disappointed by the quality of the insects you will deliver, whether he orders huge quantities on a regular basis or small quantities now and then. You must expect that the money income and the delays will vary: it is you responsibility to successfully deal with such variations of resources (increase or diminution) in order to always fulfil the product specifications. We will see that this requires creativity! Failing the production specifications will result in economically damaging consequences (loss of the client’s trust).
3 Particularities of the activity of insect rearing
3.1. Rearing simulation
We will introduce some particularities of insect rearing with the help of a simulation: you are in charge of setting up a rearing and adapting it to the demand.