Figure 1 - uploaded by Rhuanito Ferrarezi
Content may be subject to copyright.
Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) life cycle (45 days total). They spend two stages of their life in the growing media as eggs (4 days) and larva stage (18 days). Only when they are transforming from pre-pupa (14 days) to adults (9 days) do they move away from the media to find a dry place to complete the metamorphosis (source eggs stage: www.justbajan.com, source larva stage: www. junglebobsreptileworld.com, source pre-pupa stage: www.projectnoah.org, source adult stage: www.aquaponics .wikia.com).
Similar publications
Citations
... Hence, they are not a threat to humans and the environment. As shown in Figure 1, BSF has four growth stages lasting about 45 days (egg-4 days, larvae-18 days, pupae-14 days, and adult-9 days) [37,38]. ...
Human population in many African countries is on upward trajectory resulting in increased waste generation. Currently, the generation of human wastes supersedes their collection, treatment and disposal. Sewage management is therefore a major problem. Available traditional sewage management systems comprise of pit latrines, soak pits, cesspools, and septic tank-soakage pits. Non-traditional, but conventional systems include constructed wetlands (CWs) and municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWWTPs). Whereas the former are largely ineffective, CWs and MWWTPs achieve significant detoxification enabling reuse of sludge and effluent water, but require considerable land sizes coupled with high investments in capital, operational and maintenance costs. Hence are less common. Pit-latrines, soak pits, cesspools and septic tank-soakage pits are locally preferred due to their lower construction and repair costs, but ineffective in sewage treatment. Herein, we present the opportunities of using black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and microalgae as cost-effective and sustainable sewage treatment methods. A deeper understanding on the technicalities and suitability of BSFL and microalgae is provided. Microalgae are tailored for secondary wastewater treatment into high-quality effluent for reuse or discharge into the environment. Accumulated microalgae biomass is convertible into biooil, biofertiliser and biofuel. BSFL is relevant for primary sewage sludge treatment producing nutrient-rich frass as biofertilizer. The pupae are rich in protein, fats and fatty acids hence usable as animal feed. Significant gains are obtained by combining BSFL and microalgae in batch processes employing pump and treat. The process requirements, environmental and socioeconomic benefits of these methods are presented to guide in decision making.
... Using larvae from these insects as waste processors is a promising opportunity because the harvested BSF larvae can be helpful as a source of protein for animal feed, so it can be an alternative feed to replace conventional feed (Mertenat et al., 2019;Siddiqui et al., 2024). Some of the other advantages of BSF processing are its fast life cycle (45 days on average), as can be seen in Figure 1 (Ferrarezi and Bailey, 2016), and the operation of the processing plant using affordable facilities with low costs. Therefore, it is suitable for implementation in small urban areas. ...
... The life cycle of BSF larvae H. illucens includes 4 stages which includes egg, larvae, followed by prepupae and adult or pupae with 45 days of life span (Cannella et al., 2016;Sheppard et al., 2002). However, BSFL has 21 days of developmental duration, which has been longer when compared with (< 5 d) houseflies. ...
Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) Hermetia illucens is fastest growing and most promising insect species especially recommended to bring high-fat content as 5th generation bioenergy. The fat content can be fully optimized during the life-cycle of the BSFL through various organic dietary supplements and environmental conditions. Enriched fat can be obtained during the larval stages of the BSF. The presence of high saturated and unsaturated fatty acids in their body helps to produce 70 % of extractable oil which can be converted into biodiesel through transesterification. The first-generation biodiesel process mainly depends on catalytic transesterification, however, BSFL had 94 % of biodiesel production through non-catalytic transesterification. This increases the sustainability of producing biodiesel with less energy input in the process line. Other carbon emitting factors involved in the rearing of BSFL are less than the other biodiesel feedstocks including microalgae, cooking oil, and non-edible oil. Therefore, this review is focused on evaluating the optimum dietary source to produce fatty acid rich larvae and larval growth to accumulate C16–18 fatty acids in larger amounts from agro food waste. The process of optimization and biorefining of lipids using novel techniques have been discussed herein. The sustainability impact was evaluated from the cultivation to biodiesel conversion with greenhouse gas emissions scores in the entire life-cycle of process flow. The state-of-the-art in connecting circular bioeconomy loop in the search for bioenergy was meticulously covered.
... BSF has a life cycle of about 45 days, which can be split into four distinct stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages [23]. Fig. 1 below gives a visual representation of the BSF life cycle. ...
... After 2À3 weeks, the larvae begin turning to pupae and become more inactive and immobile. They will also look for a dry space to undergo metamorphosis into flies (adults) [23]. Adult flies have a lifespan of about a week before they die [26], but the lifespan can vary depending on the conditions. ...
Background
Throughout the world, food wastage issues continue to plague almost every country. Multiple ideas and solutions have been conceived and are continuously being tested by scientists and government bodies to mitigate food waste management issues. Black Soldier Fly (BSF) rearing is an up-and-coming commodity because of its versatility and multi-function purposes in various fields, such as food waste management, animal feed industry and bioactive compounds industry.
Methods
This work looks at setting up an automated smart farming system to rear BSF, with the help of implementing the Internet-of-Things (IoT) into the monitoring system. It also entails a guide on a possible design of a home-based Black-Soldier-Fly smart farm, where the Internet-of-Things components such as sensors, relays, and mobile applications are showcased. Finally, the prospects and challenges that arise with Black-Soldier-Fly smart farming can be identified and discussed.
Significant findings
Important growth factors such as temperature, light and pH can be monitored remotely by Internet-of-Things technology. Through IoT implementation, the farm can be remotely controlled and growth parameters can be adjusted with ease. Hence, this would lead to the efficient production of BSF larvae for processing food waste or conversion to bioactive compounds.
... The average size of this fly larvae is approximate 24 mm long and 8 mm wide. The life cycle of a black soldier fly last approximate 45 days: Eggs (4 days), Larvae stage (18 days), Pupae stage (14 days), and adult stage (9 days) [4]. Note that the larvae is suitable to be used as fish feed because of the high nutrient and protein contents (16 %), as shown in table 1. ...
Aquaculture is identified as one of the critical food supplies in Malaysia. Due to the increasing demand for aquaculture products, the demand for protein sources for fish feed is also increased accordingly. Black soldier fly larvae is identified as one of the main protein sources that can be used in fish feed. Such larvae can be grown using different types of organic materials, such as food waste, agriculture waste, etc. As Malaysia is the second-largest palm oil producer in the world, therefore, a large number of agricultural wastes, also known as palm-based biomass (e.g., empty fruit bunches, mesocarp fibre, decanter cake, etc.) are generated annually. Based on the current industry practise, palm-based biomass can be converted into value-added products. However, using palm-based biomass as feedback to grow black soldier fly larvae is a relatively recent discovery. Thus, a viable supply chain model has yet to be established. In this work, a mathematical optimisation model is developed via commercial optimisation software (Lingo v. 16) to synthesise an optimum black soldier fly-based aquaculture feed supply chain that utilised palm–based biomass as the feedstock. Based on the optimised result, the annual operating cost of the aquaculture feed supply chain is estimated as RM 5.2 million.
... rearing for feed, waste processing etc.). There have been several studies that explore the application of H. illucens larvae to recycle food waste [6-8, 13, 41-47] and also in production of alternative animal feed [1,2,4,[48][49][50]. Such exploration for suitable application have also led to studies to understand the various factors affecting the growth and identifying the suitable conditions for larvae rearing [9-16, 20, 39-42, 51-57]. ...
Larvae of Hermetia illucens, also commonly known as black soldier fly (BSF) have gained significant importance in the feed industry, primarily used as feed for aquaculture and other livestock farming. Mathematical models such as the Von Bertalanffy growth model and dynamic energy budget models are available for modelling the growth of various organisms but have their demerits for their application to the growth and development of BSF. Also, such dynamic models were not yet applied to the growth of the BSF larvae despite models proven to be useful for automation of industrial production process (e.g. feeding, heating/cooling, ventilation, harvesting, etc.). This work primarily focuses on developing a model based on the principles of the afore mentioned models from literature that can provide accurate mathematical description of the dry mass changes throughout the life cycle and the transition of development phases of the larvae. To further improve the accuracy of these models, various factors affecting the growth and development such as temperature, feed quality, feeding rate, moisture content in feed, and airflow rate are developed and integrated into the dynamic growth model. An extensive set of data was aggregated from various literature and used for the model development, parameter estimation and validation. Models describing the environmental factors were individually validated based on the data sets collected. In addition, the dynamic growth model was also validated for dry mass evolution and development stage transition of larvae reared on different substrate feeding rates. The developed models with the estimated parameters performed well, highlighting their potential application in decision-support systems and automation for large scale production.
... rearing for feed, waste processing etc.). There have been several studies that explore the application of H. illucens larvae to recycle food waste [6-8, 13, 41-47] and also in production of alternative animal feed [1,2,4,[48][49][50]. Such exploration for suitable application have also led to studies to understand the various factors affecting the growth and identifying the suitable conditions for larvae rearing [9-16, 20, 39-42, 51-57]. ...
Larvae of Hermetia illucens, also commonly known as black soldier fly (BSF) have gained significant importance in the feed industry, primarily used as feed for aquaculture and other livestock farming. Mathematical model such as Von Bertalanffy growth model and dynamic energy budget models are available for modelling the growth of various organisms but have their demerits for their application to the growth and development of BSF. Also, such dynamic models were not yet applied to the growth of the BSF larvae despite models proven to be useful for automation of industrial production process (e.g. feeding, heating/cooling, ventilation, harvesting, etc.). This work primarily focuses on developing a model based on the principles of the afore mentioned models from literature that can provide accurate mathematical description of the dry mass changes throughout the life cycle and the transition of development phases of the larvae. To further improve the accuracy of these models, various factors affecting the growth and development such as temperature, feed quality, feeding rate, moisture content in feed, and airflow rate are developed and integrated into the dynamic growth model. An extensive set of data were aggregated from various literature and used for the model development, parameter estimation and validation. Models describing the environmental factors were individually validated based on the data sets collected. In addition, the dynamic growth model was also validated for dry mass evolution and development stage transition of larvae reared on different substrate feeding rates. The developed models with the estimated parameters performed well highlighting its application in decision-support systems and automation for large scale production.
With the rising demand for sustainable protein sources and effective waste management solutions, Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae (Hermetia illucens) have gained attention for their ability to convert organic waste into high-protein biomass. This study investigates the effects of different organic substrates on the growth and nutritional quality of BSF larvae, aiming to identify optimal substrate types for enhancing protein production and supporting sustainable waste management. Conducted in Tomay, La Trinidad, Benguet from January to March 2022, the experiment compared the larval development duration, crude protein content, and associated rearing costs of BSF larvae fed with cabbage trimmings (control), banana peelings, and retrograded rice. The larvae’s development period, from first to sixth instar, ranged from 15 to 17 days under room temperature conditions of 24°C to 30°C and relative humidity levels between 52% and 99%. Results showed that larvae fed on banana peelings achieved the highest crude protein content at 17.81% with a moisture content of 61.11%, followed closely by cabbage trimmings with 17.34% protein and 64.22% moisture, and retrograded rice with 16.82% protein and 63.96% moisture. These differences in protein and moisture content suggest that substrate type significantly influences the nutritional quality of BSF larvae, with implications for their use as a sustainable protein source. In terms of cost, rearing BSF larvae on banana peelings resulted in the highest expenses (PhP3,343.00), followed by cabbage trimmings (PhP3,104.00) and retrograded rice (PhP2,970.00), with total experimental costs amounting to PhP9,509.50. This study highlights that substrate choice affects not only the growth rate and nutrient content of BSF larvae but also the economic feasibility of BSF rearing.
Aquaculture industry is one of the world’s fastest and largest growing food producing sector. Most importantly, the usage of fish meal in aquaculture has been replaced with alternate protein sources due to their production cost, demand of raw materials and various environmental issues. The insect black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larval (BSFL) meal is being recognized as a feed ingredient in aquafeeds for their protein rich content similar fish meal. BSFL meal has been utilized as a fish meal or soy meal substitution in aquaculture to improve the nutrition. The culture of H. illucens larvae can be achieved using various biodegradable wastes and converted into a valuable biomass. In addition, the proximate analysis of H. illucens has been analyzed for its multifaceted role in poultry, cattle feed preparation and human consumption. The effectiveness of BSFL diet was analyzed for final body weight (FBW), specific growth rate (SGR), feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed intake (FI), feed efficiency (FE) and survival (SUR) of different fish and shrimp used as an experimental models with FM as the control diet. However, there is no comprehensive review available on the BSFL as an alternate protein source in aquaculture till date. Hence, the present review aimed to evaluate the feasible role of BSFL in feed, its sustainable production and challenges of BSFL meal in aquaculture sector along with their merits and demerits.
Due to the sustainable organic matter bioconversion process used as substrate for its development, the Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus) larvae biomass is considered a source of compounds with high aggregate value and quite a promising market. The materials that can be extracted from H. illucens larvae have opened the door to a diverse new field of ingredients, mainly for the feed and food industry, but also with potential applicability in cosmetics. In this review we succinctly describe the larval development and rearing cycle, the main compounds identified from different types of extractions, their bioactivities and focus on possible applications in cosmetic products. A search was made in the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science with the terms ‘Hermetia illucens’, ‘bioactives’, ‘biochemical composition’ and ‘cosmetics ingredients’, which included 71 articles published since 1994.
