I work at a farm that produces live feed, mostly for pet stores and zoos. I've been working there full-time for a year-ish, amd I have experience with the production of Tenebrio spp. (mealworm beetles), Galleria spp. (waxworm moths), and Acheta spp. (house crickets). This includes every stage of the life cycle: egg + larva + pupa + adult for the "worms", and egg + nymph + adult for the crickets. The "worms" are sold as larvae for optimum nutritional value and trophic return-on-input, whereas the crickets are sold as adults. My job is one of the "dirty jobs" at the farm. Well, everyone's job there is dirty, but I'm one of the ones scooping feed, breathing clouds of bug shit, handling the product and sometimes having it crawl all over us, being swarmed by moths and beetles and flies, and dodging cockroaches. It's not as terrible as it might sound but it's definitely not clean.
This is a throwaway account that I'll be checking as much as I can today and tomorrow and maybe Monday too. I do not do push notifications or phone notifications and I'm not extremely online enough to respond to everything within 5 minutes, but I'll be logged on at least once an hour for this today. I will respond to every single question if I can, it just might take awhile. If you know or have an inkling of what my main is, shh, plz dun dox. After this AMA is complete I may abandon this account, I only made it for this (plus the bit).
To clear a few things up, YES, I have eaten the product, and YES, I do have a deep hatred for the careerist, corporate-ladder-climbing administrative class. Any other resemblences to a similar username are coincidental.
-WwF
Why do you call it growing insects and not raising insects?
Because I don't give names to my bugs. I don't check up on them individually, I monitor their progress and health in bulk, 5000+ at a time.
Idk. We just call most of our rooms "grow rooms". It's what I'm used to saying.
Send me pics of each bug and I'll give them all cool names.
no
This is the 12th type of liberalism
:why-post-this:
I'm really good with names, they will totally be the perfect name for every individual big. You will think to yourself 'why didn't I think of this name, they are clearly an (insert name like Jennifer here).'
*Dave Anthony voice*
"Now don't get too attached to this one, Gareth."
What is my name
Mavis
It's not nice to name people after a type of bacon.
I didn't know it was one.
Here is a picture of one of each bug. Pray tell -- what would they be named?
(p.s. I'm no bug doctor so the pictures might not even be the right bugs)
Oo you can name the first one Chester! After one of my most beloved children's book characters, who is also a cricket.
The cricket is named Shirley, the beetle is named Douglas and would prefer you not call him Doug, the moth larva is named Janice