Rearing performance of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) on municipal biowaste in the outdoor ambient weather conditions of Pakistan and Indonesia

Abstract

The availability and continuous supply of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) is crucial for efficient operation of a BSF biowaste recycling facility. Its rearing performance was for the first time investigated in Pakistan under outdoor ambient weather conditions. Comparison of the findings with the BSF rearing performance of Indonesia’s facility highlights the life stages needing special attention. In Pakistan, mean BSF emergence, hatching and survival rate of 58.8% (SD 15.2), 44.5% (SD 21.8) and 91.4% (SD 1.68) were achieved respectively. A positive significant correlation was found between the number of emerged flies and prepupae ( R = 0.75) and the number of eggs produced and hatched ( R = 0.92). On average, BSF took 49.5 days (SD 3.20) to complete one life cycle (LC) under ambient temperature and relative humidity (RH) between (22–35 °C) and (24.7–89.3%) respectively. The mean duration of eclosion, pre-oviposition, egg hatching, larval feeding and pupation was 15.6 days (SD 1.6), 3.5 days (SD 0.5), 3 days (SD 0.6), 22 days (SD 2.5), 3.8 days (SD 1.2) respectively. In Pakistan, the LC duration was longer with a smaller number of eggs/fly, lower BSF emergence and hatching rates as compared to Indonesia. BSF tolerated the semiarid weather conditions of Pakistan, successfully developed into all instars and completed all LCs under observation. It is suggested to provide controlled environmental conditions at the nursery stage to improve BSFL rearing performance for sustainable biowaste management.

The Efficiency of Black Soldier Fly Larvae with Vegetable, Fruit and Food Waste as Biological Tool for Sustainable Management of Organic Waste

“…The experiment spanned until 70% of the larvae had transformed into prepupae, concluding after 22 days post-hatching [12]. The trays containing the larvae were weighed to determine both the final larval weight and the residual weight, which comprised the frass (larval excrement) and any unprocessed waste.…”

Unveiling Environmental Influences on Sustainable Fertilizer Production through Insect Farming

“…The observed adverse effect of air humidity on phosphorus accumulation in our study might be attributed to its potential to limit microbial activity essential for nutrient mineralization and organic matter decomposition. Previous studies [39][40][41] have demonstrated that the optimal air humidity range for BSFL typically falls within 40% to 70%. Thus, deviations from this range can impact the nutrient cycling in the composting system.…”

Rearing of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as a tool for managing agricultural byproducts

“…They can grow on waste and byproducts; additionally, they have a high feed conversion e ciency and a low risk of transmission of zoonotic infections (Wang et al 2007; Wang et al 2017;Mahmood et al 2021). Among the insect species capable of rapidly producing signi cant biomass under controlled rearing conditions, the black soldier y is currently the main species widely studied for its high capacity for waste degradation and its use as a feed ingredient (Makkar et al, 2014, Mahmood et al 2023. It is a protein source with a well-balanced essential amino acid (EAA) pro le that is almost comparable to that of sh meal (Barroso et al 2014;Muller et al 2017;Chia et al 2020;Adebayo et al 2021).…”