Growth performance and nutritional composition of black soldier fly, <i>Hermetia illucens</i> (L), (Diptera : Stratiomyidae) reared on horse and sheep manure

Abstract

Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens is one organism that widely used to reduce organic wastes through bioconversion process by employing the ability of larvae to consume various types of organic waste. This process changes organic waste into larvae and prepupae biomass which was developed in order to provide an alternative protein source for animal feedstock. In this study, the effect of four experimental diets was analyzed, namely horse manure, a mixture of horse manure and vegetable waste, sheep manure and a mixture of sheep manure and vegetable waste. Newly hatched larvae were inoculated on experimental diets. The sample of 20 larvae from 5 replicates were measured and weighed until pupae stage. Nutrient content of prepupae reared on experimental diet were analyzed proximately. The effects of diet on development time, growth of the larval stages, mortality, fecundity and nutritional composition of black soldier fly were studied. Results indicate that a mixture of horse manure and vegetable waste diet was the best of the four diets in terms of the shorter of development time, the lowest of percentage mortality, the highest of fecundity and the better of nutritional content. In conclusion, both of morphological development and the nutritional ingredient of black soldier fly were highly determined by the used growing substrates and food ingested. Addition of vegetable waste can improve growth performance and nutritional content of black soldier fly when reared on horse and sheep manure.