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Seven BSF metrics reference map
Seven BSF metrics. Seven different decisions.
01 · The chain
A headline number is not enough
When a batch slips, one headline conversion number rarely tells me where the problem started.
I go back through the chain.
02 · The basis
1 · Conversion basis
Before comparing results, check the definition. Wet substrate to wet live larvae is not the same metric as dry matter to dry matter. A precise number on the wrong basis is still misleading.
03 · The clock
2 · Cycle length
This is the throughput clock. It tells you how quickly the same rearing space becomes available for the next batch — and whether slower growth is quietly consuming your margin.
04 · The bed
3 · Substrate moisture
Can the larvae keep feeding without the bed drying out or turning anaerobic? Measure it at loading. Do not wait for a struggling batch to reveal the recipe was wrong.
05 · The target
4 · Temperature
The substrate is the target. Air is the lever. Early and late in the cycle require different air conditions because evaporation and larval metabolic heat pull in opposite directions.
06 · The dose
5 · Density and survival
Did you dose enough larvae to finish the recipe, without overcrowding the tray? Density trades off individual size, cycle speed and robustness.
07 · The stream
6 · FCR and substrate
What does this actual stream convert at under this actual process? Substrate quality sets the possible range. Operation decides how much of that potential you capture.
08 · The output
7 · Effective dried yield
After survival, breeding retention and drying, how many saleable dried kilograms remain per tonne of material in? This is the number the business plan ultimately has to carry.
09 · The takeaway
A diagnostic chain
These are not seven isolated KPIs.
They are a diagnostic chain: input basis → operating conditions → batch performance → saleable output.
A weak final yield may begin with the substrate, the loading conditions, the dose or the time — not with the dryer and not with the sales price.
I closed the original seven-part BSF Metrics series in May. This is the reference map I wish more project teams used before comparing facilities or scaling a recipe.
Save it for the next batch that slips.
Which of these seven do you measure every batch — and which one appears only in your business plan?
Keep exploring
Related topics and pages
- BSF metrics series — the teaser that introduced the seven-post series behind this map
- Key production output metrics in BSF farming: Measuring efficiency and ROI — the metric-by-metric guide behind the seven decisions
- Production capacity in BSF farming: Realistic output metrics that actually hold — the capacity numbers that hold after commissioning
Read next
- BSF Metrics #1 — Bioconversion Ratio — the first metric in the chain, on the conversion basis
- BSF Metrics #7 — Dried Product Yield — the last metric in the chain, on effective dried yield
- BSF metrics series — the teaser that introduced the seven-post series
- What Manna is working on now — the sibling company post on Manna's current workstreams and their maturity levels
Next step
Check the chain on your own batch
Manna can help you measure the seven metrics on a specific material, site and operating setup.