U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Office of International Research Engagement and Cooperation OBCL Research Highlights





- About OIREC
- International Research Partnerships
- Global Food Security
- Regional Contacts
- Office of International Research Engagement and Cooperation Team
- About OBCL
- OBCL Research Highlights
- Archive OBCL Research Highlights

Harvesting Agriculture’s “Natural” Insect Farms: ARSX 2021 Winning Project ARSX is an internal competition to USDA Agricultural Research Service employees and  awards $100,000 to winning teams with compelling research ideas. Among the three winners of this year’s ARSX challenge seeking for bold, transformative ideas to “Harvest for a Healthier Future” is a project titled Harvesting Agriculture’s “Natural” Insect Farms led by Alexandra Chaskopoulou, medical entomologist for the European Biological Control Laboratory (EBCL) in Thessaloniki, Greece. This project brought together a very diverse team of researchers from across the world: Lee Cohnstaedt, ARS research epidemiologist from the Arthropod-borne Animal Diseases Research Unit in Manhattan, Kansas

Brenda Oppert, ARS research molecular biologist from the Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research Unit in Manhattan, Kansas

Anne Donoghue, ARS research leader and poultry production expert from the Poultry Production and Product Safety Research Unit in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Komala Arsi, Director of the Experiment Station and food safety expert from University of Arkansas from Fayetteville, Arkansas

Kiki Zinoviadou, food scientist from American Farm School in Thessaloniki, Greece The proposed project addresses two major agricultural problems by transforming one problem into a solution: Large-scale livestock production is a significant contributor to climate change globally with animal feed production being one of the major sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is a critical need for alternative feed sources with low environmental impact. 

Vector-borne diseases — those transmitted to people and animals by insect vectors — result in hundreds of thousands of cases annually and economic losses exceeding $100 billion a year. Environmental and ecological changes induced by agriculture often result in the production of massive vector populations. Sustainable, insecticide free management solutions that do minimal damage to the environment are required. The proposed solution is to harvest nuisance and pathogen-transmitting insects such as mosquitoes and house flies utilizing an ARS mass trapping device directly from agricultural landscapes, where these pestiferous insects are produced in massive numbers including rice-fields and intensive cattle and poultry production areas. The adoption of such a practice shall contribute to a more sustainable feed production with fewer GHG emissions while reducing nuisance and disease transmitting insect populations. The implementation of this proposal will significantly expand our knowledge on the nutritional value and safety of harvested insect pests and lay the groundwork for incorporating this new feed system in the currently available animal feed supply chain. Mass Trapping TechnologyLeft: Mass trapping technology designed by Lee Cohnstaedt, Robert “JR” Ewing and their team in Manhattan, Kansas. Right: Chickens feed on mosquitoes harvested from rice fields in Greece. (Photos courtesy of Alexandra Chaskopoulou and Lee Cohnstaedt) Contact: Alexandra Chaskopoulou


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov