Effects of Feeding Adults ofHermetia illucens(Diptera: Stratiomyidae) on Longevity, Oviposition, and Egg Hatchability: Insights Into Optimizing Egg Production

Abstract

Larvae of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), have been widely studied for their capacity of generating value-added products through waste bioconversion. Several efforts have been made towards optimization of rearing methods of the larval stages. Despite this, less information regarding the feeding behavior of adults and its effects on life parameters is available. We studied the impacts of subjecting adults to four diets: no diet (control); drinking water (water); a mix of sugar, bacteriological peptone, and milk powder (milk); and agar with sugar (agar). In total five replicates with 50 females and 50 males per treatment were performed. Oviposition and mortality were recorded daily. Additionally, egg hatchability and number of eggs per mass were measured. Results from this study indicate that the amount of eggs was 3 times higher for diets containing a protein source. Furthermore, milk treatment increased the oviposition period by 10 d compared with that of the standard water treatment. No significant difference was found for male longevity; however, females fed with milk diet lived 5 d longer than the control group. Egg hatchability ranged 70–85%, but was not significantly different across treatments. In terms of egg production for both industrial and research purposes, we suggest using a protein-rich diet to maximize oviposition and longevity parameters as adults do benefit from feeding.

Optimization of Hermetia illucens (L.) egg laying under different nutrition and light conditions

“…Although abundant studies were performed on the optimization of larvae rearing [3,[14][15][16][17], additional information on the adult breeding strategies must be deepened. Expanded knowledge on the individual reproductive potential of females, adult density and nutrition requirements [18,19], may increase egg production and achieve a successful industrial process.…”

“…The fecundity of females may be influenced by the nutritional content available during larval stages [3,28] or by the type of nutrition administrated during adult stage [17,18]. Moreover, a diet rich in proteins could increase the oviposition performances of BSF females [18].…”

“…The fecundity of females may be influenced by the nutritional content available during larval stages [3,28] or by the type of nutrition administrated during adult stage [17,18]. Moreover, a diet rich in proteins could increase the oviposition performances of BSF females [18]. Egg hatchability seemed to be positively influenced by LED lighting compared to fluorescent tubes [15] while a positive influence was observed by feeding adults with a combination of sugar, milk powder and bacteriological peptone, although the difference was not significant if compared to agar, water or no nutrition [18].…”

Interspecific Competition between the House Fly, Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) and Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) When Reared on Poultry Manure

“…They may also invest less in nutrient acquisition during larval development because they have fewer digestive enzymes compared to BSFs [46], or because they must feed as adults to mature reproductively [47]. Black soldier flies, on the other hand, do not necessarily have to feed as adults [28] although they can [48,49]; there is an adaptive value for BSFs to invest in more digestive enzymes to feed more efficiently as larvae and acquire all of the nutrients needed to sustain adult livelihood [50].…”

Black soldier fly larvae as a sustainable animal feed ingredient in Kenya

“…In the future, therefore, research should investigate the effect of BSF-based feed on sensory attributes of animal products in Kenya. In BSF colonies, studies have shown that feeding adult BSF increases the oviposition period (Bertinetti et al, 2019;Chia et al, 2018b). However, little is known about the number of egg batches an adult BSF can lay in its life time.…”