A Taste of Bugs
SJO3 Elvie Dulay is game to try the fried BSF Larvae.
Video, photos and Text By: Nonnette C. Bennett
PDLs taste the fried BSF larvae that have been salted and spiced.
Completing the circular economy, a taste of the product from the conversion of the biowaste into food again was demonstrated by Dr. Roland James Bayang when he gave a taste of the fried Black Soldier Fly larvae to Jail Officers and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL) on 26 August 2025.
SJO2 Dominic Laduan samples the fried larvae and is amazed with the taste.
SJO2 Dominic Laduan asked if it was really black soldier fly when he tasted it.
SJO3 Elvie Dulay also tried it and said that it didn’t taste bad.
The PDLs tried the fried insects and some said that it was delicious and tasted like chicharon.
According to the web, “Insects may provide a sustainable option for protein sources containing 13-77% protein by dry weight. Some insects may also be used as a fat source boasting up to 67.25% lipids by dry weight. Insects can provide omega-6 and omega-3, iron (proportionally more iron than other major food sources like beef), and zinc.”
In the Philippines, a variety of insects are eaten as exotic food. Edible insects include migratory locusts (balang) and grasshoppers, June beetles (salagubang), crickets (kuliglig), termites, and the larvae of beetles, ants, and bees, according to Google. This time it is the Black Soldier Fly larvae that serve as feed for livestock like chicken, pigs, cattle, dogs, and cats. Even fish are fed the BSF as food.
In his winning documentary on “Langaw na di Binubugaw,” television newscaster Atom Araullo ate the fried Black Soldier Fly larvae and said that it was good. The crispy larvae are crunchy and salty with the addition of salt and spices to the small wormlike bits.
Last 6 August 2025, 100 pieces of six-inch long catfish were given to the BJMP Male Dorm by Judilyn Toyoken, Aquaculturist II of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Cordillera as part of the Circular Economy Project. These will be fed with the mature larvae. The 20-days old larvae were fed with kitchen waste from the facility. The catfish are fed three kilos of the larvae daily and will be harvested for food in two months or more. Toyoken said that the cold weather has a bearing on the growth and eating habits of the catfish.
Catfish wait for the live larvae fed to them.
The BSF circular economy project by Doc Brahman Agritech Services was introduced to the BJMP Baguio City Male Dorm on 2 July 2025 with the delivery of five grams of BSF eggs in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Baguio North for the containers of the larvae and BFAR with the catfish. The biowaste disposal problem of the facility was exacerbated and converted into food for humans and the fish.
