An installation for treating arthropod larvae, in particular, insects, and more specifically, ground Diptera larvae, comprises at least one piece of equipment producing glue water, which is extracted from the mixture of ground, larvae. The installation comprises a glue water circuit supplying a ground larvae treatment equipment comprising a circuit for diluting the ground larvae and/or a glue water evaporator and/or a meal dryer.

The present invention provides a robotic system for culturing and conducting experiments on C. elegans comprising a nutating tower, a well plate positioner, a reagent assembly, a liquid dispensing assembly, a wash and camera assembly, a housing assembly, a tip tray, and a three axes positioner wherein the nutating tower stores and nutates well plates. The present invention further provides a method of using the above-described system to culture C. elegans.

In an aspect, a system for breeding and harvesting insects is provided and includes an egg-producing chamber structure configured to receive insect pupae for pupation and to permit emerged adult insects to mate and oviposit insect eggs, at least one oviposition region in the egg-producing chamber structure configured to receive the insect eggs and apertured to permit at least one of the insect eggs and neonates of the insect eggs to pass therethrough, at least one larvae-growth chamber in communication with the at least one oviposition region so as to be configured to receive the at least one of the insect eggs and neonates of the insect eggs, wherein the larvae-growth chamber is further configured to permit the at least one of the insect eggs and neonates of the insect eggs to transition into larvae and to hold feed material for the larvae, a harvesting receptacle positioned to hold larvae, and an inclined surface positioned to receive larvae from the at least one larvae-growth chamber, and to provide a passageway for the larvae to travel to the harvesting receptacle.

Method for supporting the preservation of the insect population, having the following steps of: determining the lethal effect of a product unit on an insect population, determining a difference in the insect population on the basis of the effect of a particular quantity of product units, determining the actual insect population in a predetermined area, determining a desired insect population in the predetermined area, which desired insect population is derived from the actual insect population in the predetermined area and the difference in the insect population, and creating a basis of life for the desired insect population in the predetermined area by adapting the biological nature of the predetermined area.

In one embodiment, a system for rearing larvae includes a plurality of culture trays arranged in at least one stack of trays, each stack comprising multiple levels of trays, each tray comprising an open-topped basin adapted to receive larvae and larval food, a feed delivery system adapted to automatically deliver larval feed to individually selected culture trays, and a water delivery system adapted to automatically deliver water to the culture trays.

A display apparatus includes a transparent electronic display such as a non-backlit LCD screen, a display area disposed behind the transparent electronic display, and a light source for illuminating the display area. When the light source is activated, the pixels of the LCD screen, and objects behind the screen, become visible. Various examples of the display apparatus include additional enhancements to the visual image and/or functionality. These enhancements include additional monitors for coordinated displays, user-controlled turntables with coordinated informational displays, parallax compensation, RFID sensors for identifying objects to be displayed, and switchable liquid crystal films and/or polarized mirror coatings to further control revealing and concealing of objects behind the screen. Some examples of the display apparatus may include an animal habitat. The animal habitat may be selectively revealed or concealed. The display apparatus may incorporate screen displays with animal movements for unique visual effects.

This invention provides a system for producing organic fertilizer from excreta of domestic animal obtained by digesting of larvae belonging to Diptera such as Musca domestica (housefly), Boettcherisca peregrine and Tabanus, and for producing grown larvae which can be used as a feed for cultured fish and chicken raising. In an embodiment, the system for producing organic fertilizer from excreta of domestic animal and for producing grown larvae which can be used as a feed for cultured fish and chicken raising is characterized by arranging a plurality of nurturing-processing storage units for nurturing larvae hatched from eggs, and a means for dislodging only larvae forcibly from a former nurturing-processing storage unit to a later nurturing-processing storage unit successively with the progress of growth of larvae, wherein larvae leave said former nurturing-processing storage unit autonomously.

Methods for causing, enhancing, and/or expediting consumption of an article by at least one biodegradative living organism are disclosed. The methods include the use of at least one additional living organism that enhances and/or expedites consumption of the article by the at least one biodegradative living organism.

Methods are disclosed for the production of mammalian voltage-gated ion channels in ciliates. In other aspects, compositions comprising lipid bilayers containing mammalian voltage-gated ion channels are disclosed. In other aspects, compositions comprising purified and reconstituted mammalian voltage-gated ion channels are disclosed.

Methods are also provided for isolating and using a whole-saliva leech extract in the treatment of a bacterial skin infection. The methods can include feeding a phagostimulatory agent to a leech; inducing a regurgitation in the leech, the inducing including placing the leech in an environment having a temperature of less than about 0 C.; and, collecting an unrefined, whole saliva in the regurgitation of the cooled leech. The methods can include revitalizing the leech by warming it at a temperature ranging from about 5 C. to about 40 C. Stable, lyophilized, whole-saliva extracts of a leech are also provided, the extract having a stable activity when stored for use at a temperature below about 20 C., the extract maintaining at least 70% of the activity for at least 6 months. The extracts can be used to treat solid tumors, treat liquid tumors, treat diabetes, treat a viral disease, treat a parasitic disease, treat an antibacterial disease, or serve as an anti-oxidant.