Black Soldier Fly: The Star of Insect Farming The Black Soldier Fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens (L.), is a wasp-like fly from the Stratiomyidae family of the order Diptera. It is native to the tropical regions of South America and is found globally in tropical and warm temperate regions between latitudes 45°N and 40°S. The insect completes its life cycle in around 25 days, consisting of four developmental stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The larvae undergo six instars, where the final instar develops into a mobile, prepupa. BSF larvae are commercially mass produced for various purposes, viz., fish and livestock feed, organic waste management, chitin production, bioplastic manufacturing, compost preparation, and many other commercial uses. BSF can also be consumed as human feed in a fried or salted state. BSF prepupae are reported to constitute around 36% to 65% of protein content and 4% to 38% of crude fat content, along with various aminoacids and micronutrients. The prepupal stage of BSF has an average nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium content of 3.26%, 0.98%, and 1.03%, respectively. The larval stage of BSF is capable of bioconversion of organic wastes such as animal faeces, kitchen waste, vertebrate remains and decompose them into homogeneous substrate in a shorter time period as compared to vermicompost production. Depending on the size and stage of the larvae, type of the substrate available and environmental conditions, the larvae consume around 25 to 500 mg of organic matter per larva on daily basis (Kim et al. 2021). Larvae can be easily mass produced at farm level with minimal space requirements and its prepupae are used as a perfect substitute for the expensive soybean meal and fish meal diets. The BSF larval frass and its residues are applied as organic fertiliser, which improves the growth and development of plants (Lopes et al. 2022). By diverting organic waste to BSF larvae, the waste is efficiently converted into biomass, significantly reducing methane and other greenhouse gas emissions. Chitin can be produced from the BSF pupal shells, which has many applications in agriculture, textiles, and the pharmaceutical industry. BSF-derived oil has a high concentration of medium-chain saturated fatty acids (27% to 50% total fatty acids), which makes it potentially an ideal substrate for producing high-quality biodiesel. The lactic acid fermented products of BSF possess a high antimicrobial biomass, which inhibits pathogens like Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. Due to its fast growth, reproduction, and ease with which it can be maintained, the BSF has gained recognition as a highly promising insect for farming and thus earned its reputation as the "Star of Insect Farming". BSF farming can be particularly effective in regions with limited access to traditional protein source, which can improve food and nutritional security. Moreover, India’s climate is well suited for BSF.

1. Doctoral SEMINAR-1
Seminar Incharge: Dr. G.K Mahapatra
SPEAKER: Prajwal Gowda M.A (RN:12292)

2. 1 What are BSF & it’s life cycle
2 Bionomics & Nutritional Profile
3 Benefits of BSF & Requirements for BSF
Farming
4
Procedure for mass rearing & BSF
applications
5 Case Studies & Conclusion
1
CONTENTS

3. Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Stratiomyidae
Genus: Hermetia
Species: H. illucens
BIOLOGICAL HIERARCHY OF BLACK SOLDIER FLY (BSF)
Diener et al. 2011
 Tropical fly, Native to South America
 In India, first reported in Punjab – Ashuma et al. 2007
2

4. Life Cycle of BSF
Eggs
Adult: 5-8 days
Pupa: 2-3 days
Larva: 10-14 days
Egg:4-5 days
Total Life Cycle
23-26 days
ICAR-NBAIR. 2020
200-700 eggs
6 Larval
instars
Prepupa: 2-3 days
3

5. Bionomics of Black soldier fly
• BSF feeds voraciously on decaying organic wastes.
• The decaying odour of the rotting food or manure attracts the adult fly for
oviposition.
• The adult fly lays creamy white eggs in the cracks and crevices or in the provided
corrugated cardboard.
• After hatching the larvae feed upon the food and grows rapidly.
• Once fully matured, the final instar larvae crawl out and look for a dry substrate or
soil for pupation.
.
• Adult emerges out, feed upon the nectar of flowers involves in aerial mating.
4

6. Identification of sex in BSF Chemical & Nutritional Profile of BSF
Abd EL-Hack et al, 2020
5

7. The BSF Market is expected to grow 30.5% CAGR from 2022 to 36.9% CAGR from 2033.
6

8. Dynamic fluctuation in nutrient spectra of BSF 7
Changes in biomass accumulation during the BSF cycle

9. BSF Larvae are beneficial in these ways
1. BSF larvae acts as a detritivore.
2. NOTE: The larvae and adults are considered neither pests nor vectors. They are not attracted
to human habitation or foods.
3. Significant reductions of E. coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella enterica were measured in hen
manure.
4. They quickly reclaim pollutants: Nine organic chemicals were greatly reduced from manure in
24 hours.
5. They quickly reduce the volume (upto 50%) and weight of waste.
6. Apart from protein production, it produces another valuable resource called frass. Fly larval
frass is the excrement or debris that can be used as organic fertilizer.
7. As decomposers
A. BSFL are used to convert the waste into animal feed. Fly larvae are most efficient at
converting biomass into feed.
- During “prepupa” stage, they tend to migrate toward cool, dark, and dry substrates to pupate.
8

10. This prepupal migration instinct is used to self-harvest the mature larvae.
8. As feed
• The harvested larvae (prepupae)[pk;lk[ are eaten by poultry, fish, pigs, lizards, turtles, and
even dogs. They can be stored at room temperature for several weeks, and their longest shelf
life is achieved at 10 to 16°C.
9. As human food
• When powdered, they can serve as a great protein source. They could also be consumed
whole, e.g. fried and salted.
10. For producing grease
• BSF larvae can be used to produce grease. The grease is usable in the pharmaceutical
industry.
11. Chitin production from BSF larvae
12. Biodiesel
• Dried fat extracted from BSF prepupae is used as substrate for biodiesel production.
9

11. Concerns
 The present world population is 8 billion.
 Hit 9 billion people by 2050.
 Food production will need to almost double.
 Land scarcity.
Source: US Census Bureau
10

12. 31%
18%
14%
13%
10%
4%
3%
2%
5%
Coleoptera
Lepidoptera
Hymenptera
Orthoptera
Hemiptera
Isoptera
Odonata
Diptera
other orders
Akhtar and Isman,
2018
Percentage share of edible insects by different orders 11

13. Insect farming is the practice of raising and breeding insects as livestock. Insects may be
farmed for the commodities they produce or for insect itself.
Farming of BSF
A. In tropical or subtropical climates, they might breed year-round, but in temperate regions, a
greenhouse may be needed to obtain eggs.
12

14. Temperature
 Adults to mate and oviposit, the optimum
temperature range is between 27 to 37°C.
Light
 Quartz-iodine lamps have been successfully used
to stimulate mating of adults.
 Morning direct sunlight is optimal for emergence &
egglaying, with indirect sunlight often preferred
before and after mating.
Humidity
 Humidity at 70% is considered optimal for all
stages of their lifecycle.
Key abiotic factors
BSF
Temperature
Light
Humidity
13

15. BSF as Decomposer
BSF
Foods
Animal
Manure
Fruit &
Vegetable
Waste
Meat &
Potatoes
Water &
Liquids
Dairy
products
Kitchen
Wastes
Grains
& Bread
What to feed them?
Chrysantus, 2022
14

16. Factors influencing decomposition
by BSFL
Water content of the
food source
Temperature
Type of the food source
Larval density
Light Intensity
Salinity
15

17. 1. Breeding setup: Set up a suitable breeding environment. This may include large
containers or bins with appropriate temperature and humidity conditions.
2. Egg collection: Place a suitable substrate, such as moist cardboard or
wood shavings, in the breeding containers to encourage the female to lay
their eggs.
4. Larval growth: Immediately after hatching, the maggots will begin to feed
on the organic matter. Provide a sufficient amount of organic waste. Ensure
proper ventilation and moisture levels to prevent molds.
3. Egg incubation: Separate the BSF eggs from substrate and transfer it to a
container for incubation. Maintain the appropriate temperature
(27-30°C) and humidity (60-70%).
Protocol for rearing BSF 16

18. 5. Larval harvesting: As the larvae after full-grown will crawl out of the waste by
themselves; therefore, it can be easily harvested for various purposes such as animal
feed or composting. This can be done by physical separation, using sieves or other
techniques. A specific amount of 5 days old larvae are transferred from the BSF
rearing unit to BSF treatment units containing the waste.
6. Pupation (Dark Cage): The harvested larvae are transferred to containers
with suitable dark conditions for pupation. Provide a suitable substrate for the
pupae to attach to, such as a dry surface or a collection medium.
8. Mating & Repeat the cycle: The collected adults are allowed to mate in a
cage called “Love Cage”. The process of mass multiplication is a continuous
cycle which is repeated to achieve a large population.
7. Adult emergence & mating: The adults BSF will emerge from the pupae.
You can collect the adult flies from the pupae by providing suitable escape
routes.
17

19. BSFL Harvesting Equipments
Dark cage with pupation containers
stacked within
Love Cage (Mating Cage)
Stack of wooden sheets (left) and cardboard
(right) containing BSF eggs
Hatchling Shower
18

20. Flow Chart of BSF Rearing
Start
Feed Preparation
Mixing
Growing
Harvesting
Sieve Manure
Organic
Wastes
5 Days
Old
Larvae
When to harvest?
19

22. 1. Comparison of Primary plant nutrients
Sl. No. Parameters Units
BSF Compost Test
Values
Vermicompost FYM
1 Total Nitrogen as
N
% 3.26 1.6 0.5
2 Total Phosphate as P2O5 % 0.98 0.7 0.2
3 Total Potash as K2O % 1.03 0.6 0.5
Diener et al, 2009
2. Comparison of nutrient content between BSF & Soyabean
Abd EL-Hack et al, 2020
CP- Crude Protein
CF- Crude Fat
DM- Dry matter
20

23. Surendra et al. 2020
Biodiesel production through BSF Bioconversion of waste
Shelomi. 2020
21

24. Parameters used to calculate conversion rate
Overall material reduction calculated by
1. Waste Reduction Index (WRI)
WRI = D/T x 100
where, D= Overall degradation
T- Number of days, larvae fed on the material
& D=(W-R)/W
where, W- Total amount of organic material applied during time t
R- Amount of residue after time t
2. Waste reduction (%) = 1-(Feed residue/Feed added) x 100
3. Bioconversion rate (BR%) = Prepupal weight/Feed added x 100
4. Feed conversion rate (FCR%) = Feed consumed/Prepupal Weight x 100
22

25. BSF/ BSF Compost Earthworm (Vermicompost)
Differences
Larve feeds on fresh to decayed plant
material.
As the adult lays eggs near the compost pit
there by keeping the process going
indefinitely
Product can be ready within 20-25 days
Worms consumes only decaying plant
material
Worms have to be introduced to partially
decayed material
Product can be ready within 3-4 months
23

26. Chitin production from BSF
Chitin
Textile
Water
purify
Cosmetics
Pharmaceu
tics
Food
beverages
Agriculture
APPLICATIONS
24

27. Antimicrobial biomass from
lactic acid fermentation of BSF
Saadoun et al, 2020
 Lactic acid bacteria
were used for
fermentation.
 The fermented BSF
possess a high
antimicrobial activity
due to changes in
molecular/biochemical
changes.
25

28. Bioplastic from BSF
Setti et al, 2020
Protein fraction of BSF prepupae used to
produce a biodegradable film for mulching.
BSF as Fertilizer
Lopes et al, 2022
26

29. BSFL with the assist of microbes have the potential to recycle waste materials into biodiesel.
Experimental setup:
 1000g mixed feed of rice straw (30%) and Solid restaurant waste (70%).
 2000 BSFL of 6 day old + Rid-X (Microbes).
 Bio conversion for a period of 10 days.
 Rid-X, a commercial produce containing functional microbes and enzymes.
Results
43.8 g of biodiesel
Flowchart of Biodiesel Production
27

30. Zheng et al. 2012
Comparison of Fatty acids composition
Comparison of different biodiesel with Std. of
EN 14214
28

31. Singh et al. 2021
BSF larval treatment efficiency has been tested against different types of plant based
food wastes.
Treatments are:
Mix food waste (T1),
Restaurant waste (T2),
Fruit waste (T3),
and Vegetable waste (T4).
29

32.  The highest waste reduction
efficiency and the Bioconversion
values for T1 may be attributed
to appropriately balanced food
nutrition.
 Therefore, it may be concluded
that substrate type and its
nutritional value strongly
influence the waste ingestion
rate by larva.
30

33. 33
Elangovan et al. 2021
Experiment on the impact of BSF prepupae as poultry feed was conducted in India.
90 days old, unsexed Cobb chicks were used in CRD.
T1- Corn-Soya Diet (without BSF meal)
T2- Diet supplemented with 5% BSF meal
31

34.  Results, concluded that the BSF prepupae meal can be incorporated in
broiler diet.
32
Mean growth Performances of broiler chicken

35. Menino et al. 2021
A green house pot experiment was conducted on ryegrass using 7
treatments.
 T0- Without BSFLF compost.
 T25, T50, T75, T100, T125, T150 refers to 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 125% and
150% of the total demand of N supplied by BSFLF, respectively.
33

36. Mean values of aerial biomass (g of fresh and dry weight/pot) of ryegrass
 The results showed a significant effect of BSFLF on the overall
ryegrass production, with a steady increase upto the treatment with a
greater rate of application.
34

37. BSF
Short
life
cycle
Low
GHG
Emission
Versatile
Application
Ease of
Farming
Nutritious
Less Land
&
Water
Efficient
FCR
The black soldier fly has gained recognition as a highly promising insect for farming,
thus earning its reputation as the “Star of insect farming."
Is it a Star?
35

38. 36

39. What are the implications involved in BSF farming
Joly and Nikiema, 2019
Economic
1. Value depends on market
targeted.
2. Grade of the product.
3. No established market.
4. During winter it has to be
reared in CAC.
Social
1. Health hazard to
staff due to volatile
and noxious gases.
2. Social stigma to
eat meat from
animals that fed on
BSFL.
Legal
1. Lack of regulations
to use as feed/food.
2. Prohibition to use,
most conventional
waste groups to rear
BSFL.
37

40. 1. Political
2. Economic
3. Resource
4. Social
5. Legal &
Institutional
Raman et al. 2022
Challenges in BSF Farming
1. Need to convince the
government of the
potential usages of BSF.
2. High initial costs to
build the BSF
production system.
3. Challenges in ensuring a
constant and sufficient
organic waste for BSFL.
Challenges in obtaining
constant BSFL.
4. Public perception about
smell around BSFL rearing
area.
5. Lack of certification
for BSFL as feed. No
proper research &
authority
38

41. Reduce
dependency
on feed
imports.
Provides
economic
oppurtuniti
es.
By serving
as human
food &
alternative
feed to
animals.
• Good
BSFL
food
helps
both
human
& animal
healths.
BSF addressing all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals
Increase
in income
increases
the ratio
of
children
under
education
Women's
participat
ion in
small
scale
productio
n of BSF
at homes.
Alleviate
wastes
ensures
sanitatio
n & it
needs
very less
water.
39

42. Crop
residues
into
biofuel Promotes
entreprene
urship,
innovation
&
generates
youth
employme
nt
Plays a
role in feed
and food
industry
etc
BSF – A CROWN JEWEL OF INSECTS
Offers
rural
peoples to
be part of
value
chain,
resulting
in profit
&
improving
their
livelihood
Can be
grown
within
cities,
using
less
space &
helps in
waste
reductio
n
BSFL
keeps its
products
& waste
material
s in use.
Thus
aiding
regenera
tion of
natural
systems
40

43. Reduces
GHG
(mainly
methane) Able to
replace
fish oil
&
fishmeal
as feed,
so it
reduces
over-
fishing
Residue can
be used as
soil compost
or
Amendment
BSF – Popularly known as “Black GOLD”
Regulate
the
different
parties
perspective
in supply
chain &
food
standards
Offers
collaborati
on &
supports
through
investment
in science
&
technology
41

44. • For purification of biomass contaminated with heavy
metals like Cd, Hg and Pb are bioaccumulated by larvae
from feed.
Entomoremediation
• To establish time of death of a decaying body.
Forensic Entomology
• Anaerobic digestion of BSFL frass & residues generates
biogas.
Biogas
Future Prospects
42

45. Waste to
value
Minimal
farming
Mere risk of
Zoonesis
Sustainable &
Circular
Food & Feed
Nutritional
security
CONCLUSIO
N
43

46. Thank you VERY MUCH…