This photo provided by the Jeju Agricultural Technology Center shows a ptecticus tenebrifer.
JEJU, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) — A project is underway to use insects like ptecticus tenebrifers to deal with rotten tangerines and food waste on the southern resort island of Jeju.
The Jeju Agricultural Technology Center said Wednesday it is carrying out an organic resource processing technology trial project in collaboration with local company Insung Industry using ptecticus tenebrifers, a type of fly.
Tens of thousands of ptecticus tenebrifers are growing at Insung Industry’s breeding facility. They normally eat seven to eight tons of rotten tangerines every day during the tangerine harvest season.
Off-season, they eat 1.7 tons of mandarin juice residuals on a daily basis.
To enable ptecticus tenebrifers to process 40 kilograms of rotten tangerines in five days, the center plans to distribute small ptecticus tenebrifer breeding facilities to local farms on a trial basis.
For ptecticus tenebrifers, both the larvae and the adult insects are about 20 millimeters long on average. They have an excellent ecological capability of ingesting and decomposing organic materials like food waste.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
