Effects of Rearing Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia Illucens) from Organic Wastes

Abstract

Organic waste is one of the major environmental problems, and the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae can help decompose organic waste. Therefore, this research is interested in studying organic fertilizers' growth, nutritional value, and nutrient contents from the residue of black soldier fly larvae. Four experimental sets of plastic buckets containing organic wastes, i.e., pineapple peels, banana peels, durian peels, and vegetable scraps, were used to trap the black soldier flies and observe the spawning and the number of egg clusters. After that, the 4-day-old black soldier fly larvae were incubated in plastic boxes using different foods for the same duration. Three replicates of the experiment were performed, recording the growth period and size of the soldier fly larvae. The study found that the life cycle of the black soldier fly was divided into 5 stages: egg, larval, prepupal, pupal, and adult stages, in 47–67 days. The black soldier fly larvae fed pineapple peels both in the larval and prepupal stages were the largest, while the larvae fed with durian peels entered the larval stage the fastest. Subsequently, 100 g of fresh black soldier fly larvae samples from four experimental sets were analyzed for nutritional value. It was found that fresh black soldier fly larvae had protein contents of 9.25–10.69 g/100 g and a fat content of 3.29–15.90 g/100 g, which were suitable for use as an ingredient in animal feed to reduce production costs. Then, 100 g of the frass of the black soldier fly larvae fed with durian peels was collected for analysis of the essential nutrients for plants, i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, at about 2.46%, 2.77%, and 3.14%, respectively, which are suitable for use as organic fertilizers for soil amendments.