A project with an interesting acronym – FLYHIGH and the full title – Insect-plant Relationships: Insights into Biodiversity and New Applications, was the first project of this kind financed at the University of Novi Sad in the period 2015 – 2018. The project gathered researchers, students, laboratory workers and technical staff from the University of Helsinki (Finland), the University of Alicante and the company Bioflytech (Spain), the University of Novi Sad and the company AgriProtein (the Republic of South Africa), who studied the life cycle of insects and plants with the aim of obtaining valuable information in terms of ecology and evolution, which will focus on applied ecological research, such as artificial rearing of flies. Artificial rearing of flies can produce useful end products, because adult members and their larvae can be used in animal feeding, valorisation of agricultural by-products or as bio-agents for pollination services in natural, semi-natural and greenhouse environments.

On the one hand, the project gathered outstanding academic experts in the fields of entomology and ecology, and on the other hand, the experts in mass rearing of insects, which resulted in sharing knowledge and experience and enabled the creation of synergy and advancement in the primary ecological and evolutionary sector, and it also encouraged the development of integrated knowledge and innovative ideas for prospective commercial application in the field of artificial rearing of flies.

In the past few days, a final meeting was held in Alicante, Spain. Young collaborators received training in the field of rearing larval stages of insects which can be used as pollenisers, for organic waste decomposition or for animal or human nutrition. Three young researchers from Serbia (the Faculty of Sciences and the Biosense Institute) underwent the training. It was significant that the project accomplished all that was planned and it also exceeded the plans. In effect, two companies that were involved in the realisation of the project had significantly advanced in the past three years:

• The AgriProtein Company from the Republic of South Africa, Cape Town received an investment of one million dollars and on account to that established its brand which is now being sold in Saudi Arabia, Israel, Korea, Dubai. Two fly factories are made per month, recycling organic waste and producing several different products, with the annual plan to reach 25 on average in each consecutive year.
• The BioFlyTech Company from Spain, Alicante concluded final negotiations about a huge investment in millions which will enable their growth and expansion.

Regarding the scientific institutions participating in the project (the Faculty of Sciences, Novi Sad, Zoological Museum in Helsinki and the Department of the Environmental Sciences from Alicante), their scientific results are really impressive. Numerous scientific publications were issued, and a lot more is to come after the results are obtained. Mass greenhouse production of insects as possible pollenisers could be expected as a follow-up to the research and the obtained results.

In conclusion, these are very impressive results with prospective application in our country.