Background: The black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae, Hermetia illucens) is renowned for its bioconversion ability of organic matter, and is the worldwide most widely used source of insect protein. Despite varying extensively in morphology, it is widely assumed that all black soldier flies belong to the same species, Hermetia illucens. We here screened about 600 field-collected and cultured flies from 39 countries and six biogeographic regions to test this assumption based on data for three genes (mitochondrial COI, nuclear ITS2 & 28S rDNA) and in order to gain insights into the phylogeography of the species. Results: Our study reveals a surprisingly high level of intraspecific genetic diversity for the mitochondrial barcoding gene COI (divergences up to 4.9%). This level of variability is often associated with the presence of multiple species, but tested nuclear markers (ITS2 and 28S rDNA) were invariant and fly strain hybridization experiments under laboratory conditions revealed reproductive compatibility. COI haplotype diversity is not only very high in all biogeographic regions (56 distinct haplotypes in total), but also in breeding facilities and research centers from six continents (10 haplotypes: divergences up to 4.3%). The high genetic diversity in fly-breeding facilities is mostly likely due to many independent acquisitions of cultures via sharing and/or establishing new colonies from fieldcollected flies. However, explaining some of the observed diversity in several biogeographic regions is difficult given that the origin of the species is considered to be New World (32 distinct haplotypes) and one would expect severely reduced genetic diversity in the putatively non-native populations in the remaining biogeographic regions. However, distinct, private haplotypes are known from the Australasian (N = 1), Oriental (N = 4), and the Eastern Palearctic (N = 4) populations. We reviewed museum specimen records and conclude that the evidence for introductions is strong for the Western Palearctic and Afrotropical regions which lack distinct, private haplotypes.

Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) occurs on every continent and is closely associated with carrion and decaying material in human environments. Its abilities to find dead bodies and carry pathogens give it a prominence in human affairs that may involve prosecution or litigation, and therefore forensic entomologists. The identification, geographical distribution and biology of the species are reviewed to provide a background for approaches that four branches of forensic entomology (urban, stored-product, medico-criminal and environmental) might take to investigations involving this fly.

Summary The black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, is an emerging biotechnological agent with its larvae being effective converters of organic waste into usable bio‐products including protein and lipids. To date, most operations use unimproved commercial populations produced by mass rearing, without cognisance of specific breeding strategies. The genetic and phenotypic consequences of these commercial practices remain unknown and could have a significant impact on long‐term population viability and productivity. The aim of this study was thus to assess the genetic and phenotypic changes during the early phases of colony establishment and domestication in the black soldier fly. An experimental colony was established from wild founder flies and a new microsatellite marker panel was developed to assess population genetic parameters along with the phenotypic characteristics of each generational cohort under captive breeding. The experimental colony was characterised by a small effective population size, subsequent loss of genetic diversity and rapid genetic and phenotypic differentiation between the generational cohorts. Ultimately, the population collapsed by the fifth generation, most likely owing to the adverse effect of inbreeding depression following the fixation of deleterious alleles. Species with r‐selected life history characteristics (e.g. short life‐span, high fecundity and low larval survival) are known to pose particular challenges for genetic management. The current study suggests that sufficient genetic and phenotypic variations exist in the wild population and that domestication and strain development could be achieved with careful population augmentation and selection during the early stages of colony establishment.

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, is a promising candidate for the emerging insect farming industry with favourable characteristics for both bioremediation and production of animal delivered nutritive and industrial compounds. The genetic management of commercial colonies will become increasingly important for the sustainability of the industry. However, r-selected life history traits of insects pose challenges to conventional animal husbandry and breeding approaches. In this study, the long-term genetic effects of mass-rearing were evaluated as well as mating systems in the species to establish factors that might influence genetic diversity, and by implication fitness and productivity in commercial colonies. Population genetic parameters, based on microsatellite markers, were estimated and compared amongst two temporal wild sampling populations and four generations (F28, F48, F52, and F62) of a mass-reared colony. Furthermore, genetic relationships amongst mate pairs were evaluated and parentage analysis was performed to determine the oc-currence of preferential mate choice and multiple paternity. The mass-reared colony showed a reduction in genetic diversity and evidence for inbreeding with significant successive generational genetic differentiation from the wild progenitor population. Population-level analysis also gave the first tentative evidence of positive assortative mating and genetic polyandry in BSF. The homoge-neity of the mass-reared colony seems to result from a dual action caused by small effective popu-lation size and increased homozygosity due to positive assortative mating. However, the high ge-netic diversity in the wild and a polyandrous mating system might suggest the possible restoration of diversity in mass-reared colonies through augmentation with the wild population.

Background The black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae, Hermetia illucens ) is renowned for bioconversion ability of organic waste, and is the worldwide most widely used source of insect protein. Despite varying extensively in morphology, it is widely assumed that all black soldier flies belong to the same species, Hermetia illucens . We here use genetic data of 424 rearing culture and wild caught fly samples from 38 countries and six biogeographic regions to test this assumption based on data for three genes (mitochondrial COI, nuclear ITS2 & 28S rDNA). Results Our study reveals a surprisingly high level of intraspecific genetic diversity for the mitochondrial COI gene (divergences up to 4.9%). This level of variability is often associated with the presence of multiple species, but tested nuclear ITS2 and 28S rDNA markers are invariant and fly strain hybridization experiments under laboratory conditions revealed reproductive compatibility. COI haplotype diversity is not only very high in all biogeographic regions (54 distinct haplotypes in total), but also in breeding facilities and research centers from six continents (10 haplotypes: divergences up to 4.3%). The high genetic diversity in fly-breeding facilities is mostly likely explained by many independent acquisitions of cultures via sharing and/or establishing new colonies from wild-caught flies. However, explaining the observed high diversity in most biogeographic regions is difficult. The origin of the species is considered to be New World (32 distinct haplotypes) and one would expect severely reduced genetic diversity in the putatively non-native populations in the remaining biogeographic regions. But distinct, private haplotypes are also known from the Australasian (N=2), Oriental (N=4), and the Palearctic (N=5) populations. We review museum specimen records and conclude that the evidence for introductions is strong for the Western Palearctic and the Afrotropical regions which lack distinct, private haplotypes. Conclusions Based on the results of this paper, we urge the black soldier fly community to apply molecular characterization (genotyping) of the fly strains used in artificial fly-breeding and to share this data in research publications and when sharing cultures. In addition, fast-evolving nuclear markers should be used to reconstruct the recent invasion history of the species.

Background The black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae, Hermetia illucens) is renowned for bioconversion ability of organic waste, and is the worldwide most widely used source of insect protein. Despite varying extensively in morphology, it is widely assumed that all black soldier flies belong to the same species, Hermetia illucens. We here use genetic data of 424 rearing culture and wild caught fly samples from 38 countries and six biogeographic regions to test this assumption based on data for three genes (mitochondrial COI, nuclear ITS2 & 28S rDNA). Results Our study reveals a surprisingly high level of intraspecific genetic diversity for the mitochondrial COI gene (divergences up to 4.9%). This level of variability is often associated with the presence of multiple species, but tested nuclear ITS2 and 28S rDNA markers are invariant and fly strain hybridization experiments under laboratory conditions revealed reproductive compatibility. COI haplotype diversity is not only very high in all biogeographic regions (54 distinct haplotypes in total), but also in breeding facilities and research centers from six continents (10 haplotypes: divergences up to 4.3%). The high genetic diversity in fly-breeding facilities is mostly likely explained by many independent acquisitions of cultures via sharing and/or establishing new colonies from wild-caught flies. However, explaining the observed high diversity in most biogeographic regions is difficult. The origin of the species is considered to be New World (32 distinct haplotypes) and one would expect severely reduced genetic diversity in the putatively non-native populations in the remaining biogeographic regions. But distinct, private haplotypes are also known from the Australasian (N=2), Oriental (N=4), and the Palearctic (N=5) populations. We review museum specimen records and conclude that the evidence for introductions is strong for the Western Palearctic and the Afrotropical regions which lack distinct, private haplotypes. Conclusions Based on the results of this paper, we urge the black soldier fly community to apply molecular characterization (genotyping) of the fly strains used in artificial fly-breeding and to share this data in research publications and when sharing cultures. In addition, fast-evolving nuclear markers should be used to reconstruct the recent invasion history of the species.

Background The black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae, Hermetia illucens) is renowned for its bioconversion ability of organic matter, and is the worldwide most widely used source of insect protein. Despite varying extensively in morphology, it is widely assumed that all black soldier flies belong to the same species, Hermetia illucens. We here screened about 600 field-collected and cultured flies from 39 countries and six biogeographic regions to test this assumption based on data for three genes (mitochondrial COI, nuclear ITS2 & 28S rDNA) and in order to gain insights into the phylogeography of the species. Results Our study reveals a surprisingly high level of intraspecific genetic diversity for the mitochondrial barcoding gene COI (divergences up to 4.9%). This level of variability is often associated with the presence of multiple species, but tested nuclear markers (ITS2 and 28S rDNA) were invariant and fly strain hybridization experiments under laboratory conditions revealed reproductive compatibility. COI haplotype diversity is not only very high in all biogeographic regions (56 distinct haplotypes in total), but also in breeding facilities and research centers from six continents (10 haplotypes: divergences up to 4.3%). The high genetic diversity in fly-breeding facilities is mostly likely due to many independent acquisitions of cultures via sharing and/or establishing new colonies from field-collected flies. However, explaining some of the observed diversity in several biogeographic regions is difficult given that the origin of the species is considered to be New World (32 distinct haplotypes) and one would expect severely reduced genetic diversity in the putatively non-native populations in the remaining biogeographic regions. However, distinct, private haplotypes are known from the Australasian (N=1), Oriental (N=4), and the Eastern Palearctic (N=4) populations. We reviewed museum specimen records and conclude that the evidence for introductions is strong for the Western Palearctic and Afrotropical regions which lack distinct, private haplotypes.Conclusions Based on the results of this paper, we urge the black soldier fly community to apply molecular characterization (genotyping) of the fly strains used in artificial fly-breeding and share these data in research publications as well as when sharing cultures. In addition, fast-evolving nuclear markers should be used to reconstruct the recent invasion history of the species.