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ANIMAL HEALTH
WEDA EuroTier novelty 2024: LD1

larvae dispenser (insect breeding)

Insect'farming'is'undergoing'continuous' t *EFBM BEEJUJPO UP UIF FYJTUJOH QSPDFTT 5IF
change,'driven'by'increasing'demands'on' LD1 integrates seamlessly into existing feed-
WHFK QRORJ\ HI¿FLHQF\ DQG VXVWDLQDELOLW\ ing systems and closes the insect breeding
Operators' of' insect' breeding' systems' are'
therefore'constantly'looking'for'innovative' cycle.
VROXWLRQV WKDW PDNH RSHUDWLRQ PRUH HI¿: t Saving of employee time: Manual dosing
cient'and'cost:effective.'WEDA'Dammann'
&'Westerkamp'offers'such'a'solution'with' of the young larvae is no longer necessary,
its' new' LD1' larvae' dispenser.' While' very' saving valua- ble working time. vae can fall o# the sides. With a "lling height
small'larvae'were'previously'given'manu: of 60 millimetres per belt, around 75 litres of
ally'into'feed'boxes,'LD1'now'enables'au: t Precise dosage: The young larvae are feed substrate are fed per metre and then
tomated'dosing'that'is'precise'to'the'gram. dosed to the exact gram, which results in "lled with larvae. The belts are then stopped
consistent and e!cient feeding.
Challenges of the previous and the larvae can develop for around 7 to
larvae dosing system t Automatic process control: By connect- 10 days. The larvae belt is then restarted and
ing to the WEDA computer system, the entire the ready- to-harvest larvae fall onto a cross
Previously, young larvae had to be dosed feeding pro- cess is automated and moni- conveyor belt together with the feed, which
manually into the feed boxes, which was tored. transfers them to the downstream process
time-consuming and imprecise. The number 2. Larvae Belt (insects) step.
of dosed, cost-intensive young larvae varied Shelving system 50 metres long
with each dosing process. This not only led to Larvae Belt: The larvae fattening
ine!cient processes and higher larval costs, EHOW IRU HIÀFLHQW ODUYDH IDWWHQLQJ Ideally, 6 to 12 larvae belts are mounted
but also to an increased suscep- tibility to er- With the new Larvae Belt from WEDA on top of each other in an insect production
rors in the feeding process. In order to meet Dammann & Westerkamp, insect farming is facility, depending on the room height, and
the increasing requirements, an automated taking a step forward. The innovative system several such units are placed next to each
solution was needed that was both accurate simpli"es and automates larvae fattening. other. This creates a kind of rack system as a
and e!cient. fattening system with a length of around 50
This drastically reduces both labour costs metres.
Precise dosage to the gram and the need for complex robot technology.
The LD1 larvae dispenser automates the Thanks to its innovative modular design, the Ventilation guaranteed
process of larvae dosage and integrates space utilisation of the fattening system is The Larvae Belt works simply and e!-
seamlessly into existing feeding systems. optimised. It also eliminates recurring high ciently: the pumpable feed is "rst fed onto
Thanks to the connection to the WEDA com- costs for plastic containers and maintenance. the moving convey- or belt through a dos-
puter system, the young larvae can be added These bene"ts make the system a sustain- ing valve, whereby the dosing quantity is
to the feed that was previously dosed into able and cost-e!cient solution. adapted to the speed of the dosing belt. This
the boxes with precision to the gram. Previous problems in larval ensures that the belt is evenly "lled with sub-
Connection to the WEDA fattening strate. The young larvae are then conveyed
onto the belt. Larvae and substrate cannot
computer system The traditional larvae fattening system has fall o# due to the special channel shape
so far relied on a complex process: Pumpable of the conveyor belt. During the fattening
The young larvae are automatically and
precisely added to the feed dosing system, feed is dispensed into plastic crates, which phase, the larvae belt is stationary so that
are then transported on a roller conveyor
so that the LD1 larvae doser closes the cycle system. In the next step, the young larvae are the larvae have time to grow. The distance of
of e!cient insect breeding. The feed pulp is added and the crates have to be stacked on 30 cm between the belts ensures very good
"rst dosed into the boxes to the exact gram pallets again by a robot arm or employees in ventilation - the aisle between the ‘rows of
using the WEDA “Intrix” dosing station. The order to be transported to the main fatten- shelves’ also serves as an air supply channel.
DLG medal-winning dry dosing system “Dry. ing system. This procedure is labour-inten- At the end of the fattening period, the belt
Sec” then adds dry material and, in the "nal sive and costly: one crate is required per dos- is restarted and the ready-to-harvest larvae,
step, the young larvae are dosed onto the ing process and larval stocking, which costs which were placed at the front at the start of
feed substrate. The connection to the WEDA around 8 euros to purchase. With a daily fattening, fall onto a cross conveyor belt for
computer system enables precise control feeding of 100 tonnes of substrate, around further processing, together with the food.
and monitor- ing of the entire process, which 12,500 crates are required per day. This leads A milestone in insect breeding
leads to greater e!ciency and reliability. to high costs in terms of both purchase and The conclusion: WEDA’s Larvae Belt system
Supplement to WEDA systems maintenance. During the fattening period, is a milestone in insect breeding technology.
With the LD1, WEDA is setting new stan- which lasts around 7 to 10 days, this sum It o#ers a sustainable, cost-e!cient and fully
dards in insect breeding. The system repre- multiplies again. automated solution that revolutionises and
sents an e!cient, cost-e#ective and sustain- )XOO\ DXWRPDWHG KLJKO\ HIÀFLHQW optimises the entire fattening process. This
able solution for automated larval dosing process makes larvae fattening more economical
and environmentally friendly overall.
and contributes to modern and future-ori-
ented insect breeding. The LD1 is the perfect The larvae belt system from WEDA reduces Advantages of the Larvae Belt
addition to existing WEDA systems and clos- these complex work steps to a fully automat- system at a glance:
es the cycle of innovative, successful insect ed, e!cient process. Instead of boxes, the
breeding. larvae are fattened on open conveyor belts - Simplicity and cost e!ciency: the design
similar to the dry manure belts used in laying is simple and cost-e#ective, eliminating high
The advantages of the LD1 hen husbandry. A special channel shape en- acquisition costs and complex maintenance
larvae dispenser at a glance: sures that neither the substrate nor the lar- processes.
22 Vol. 40 No. 7