Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): Need, Potentiality, and Performance Measures

Abstract

The research on black soldier fly (BSF; Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) rearing is on the rise. The larval ability to grow on organic substances makes it an ideal candidate for the bioconversion of agricultural and other organic side streams. While there are several publications on the variables influencing the growth and development of different stages of BSF, juxtaposing the results could be amiss. This is because of the different experimental approaches and units used by the researchers. A few publications also lack information that might be necessary for comparing the results when using similar substrate and rearing conditions. In this review, we have analyzed the studies on rearing variables such as the type of feeding substrate, substrate depth and aeration, substrate temperature, substrate moisture, pH, feeding rate, and larval density mainly, but not exclusively, for the larvae. For the adults, factors such as the cage size, fly density, light, ambient temperature, and relative humidity are considered. In addition, larval performance when fed with side streams is encapsulated. This provides a backbone for future researchers to identify the already assessed variables along with their range and encourages them to define and use standardized rearing practices for a better comparison of the results.

Model-based process optimization of black soldier fly egg production

“…Certain assumptions and simplifications were made while modeling. As previously mentioned, relative humidity, choice of liquid food supplements, population density, and light quality parameters such as wave length spectrum and intensity can impact the egg production process ( Klüber et al, 2020 ; Nayak et al, 2024 ). However, there are—to our knowledge—no dynamic effects to these process parameters.…”

“…Recall that the aim is optimization of BSF egg production by controlling certain environmental variables, as previously illustrated in Figure 1 . The three most influential factors during the life of the fly are temperature, lighting, and access to nutrient rich liquids ( Holmes et al, 2012 ; Chia et al, 2018 ; Bertinetti et al, 2019 ; Hoc et al, 2019 ; Nayak et al, 2024 ). Relative humidity of air impacts multiple life history traits, including development speed ( Holmes et al, 2012 ).…”

“…Mass production of insects is a relatively young but rapidly evolving industrial sector which shows great potential for both standalone and circular production of high value proteins ( Francuski and Beukeboom, 2020 ; Chavez, 2021 ). Efforts to understand and enhance mass rearing typically focus on investigating the effects of fixing parameters such as feed or temperature at a constant level ( Nayak et al, 2024 ). While some aspects of automation have been investigated ( Kröncke et al, 2020 ), there is limited work on dynamic modeling of insect rearing and subsequent dynamic process optimization and control Padmanabha et al (2023) .…”