Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae and pre-pupae could be satisfactorily raised on household organic waste and used as poultry feed, offering a potential sustainable way to recycle untapped resources of waste. The present study was conducted to determine if whole (non-defatted) BSF larvae and pre-pupae raised on experimental household waste could substitute soybean meal and oil as ingredients for laying hen diets. While no significant differences in feed intake and the egg-laying rate of hens were observed throughout the experiment, egg weight and eggshell thickness were greater in the pre-pupae-fed group than in the other groups. Moreover, although diversity of the cecal microbiota was significantly higher in the pre-pupae-fed than in the control group, no significant differences in bacterial genera known to cause food poisoning were observed when comparing the treatment groups. Nonetheless, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium populations were significantly lower in the treatment than in the control group. Fat content in BSF was possibly related with the changes in the cecal microbiota. Hence, since BSF fat was deficient in essential fatty acids, special attention should be paid to the fat content and its fatty acid composition in the case of regular inclusion of BSF larvae and pre-pupae oil as an ingredient in poultry diets.

The residue generated by the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens, BSF) during the processing of organic waste is considered a suitable crop fertilizer. However, no detailed studies have investigated the fertilizer value of the residue obtained from processing household organic waste. In this study, experimental household organic waste (EHOW) was processed by BSF at 200 mg of EHOW per head for 15 days at 27 °C. To evaluate the fertilizer value of the obtained BSF larvae production residue (BSFR), the chemical composition and microbiota were analyzed, and Komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) cultivation tests were conducted. BSFR results demonstrated higher ammonium nitrogen and lower nitrate nitrogen, and the highest above-ground dry matter weight of Komatsuna. Although the relative abundance of Escherichia was low, the relative abundance of Xanthomonadaceae, which contains a genus that causes disease in plants, was high. Therefore, the presence of plant pathogens in the BSFR microbiota should be considered. Finally, the effects of BSFR on the external environment requires more detailed investigation.