• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.54 no.1_2
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• pp.17-22
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• 2016

Rearing environment direct effects on oviposition preference of black soldier fly(Hermetia illucens). In this study, the number of egg-filled flutes was surveyed according to the size of adult rearing cages and oviposition media of black soldier fly (BSF). The height of the adult rearing cages were fixed at 2 m and provided different sizes of width and length and released 20,000 BSF adults in the rearing cages. The mean number of BSF egg-filled flutes was 895.4 at $4{\times}4m$ cage, 876.3 at $2{\times}1m$ cage and 62.3 at $1{\times}1m$ cage. Comparison of egg-filled flutes was according to cages material of adult BSF. The mean number of egg-filled flutes were 820.7 and 604.3 at different cage materials such as mosquito net and green house film. The mean numbers of egg-filled flutes were 326.6 in green floral form, 135.2 in green corrugated cardboard and 41.0 in brown corrugated cardboard. And the mean number of egg-filled flutes were similar floral form with the corrugated cardboard was overlapped by floral form such as 57.7 and 64.7. The mean number of egg-filled flutes was 29.0 and 48.2 in 6 mm and 4 mm diameter of oviposition hole.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.965-972
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• 2023

As the world population growth and economy develops, the importance of eco-friendly organic waste resource treatment and up-cycling increases. Black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens) treats organic waste resources that allows it to be recycled as a feed resource. In this study, we analyzed the nutrients composition, amino acid, and fatty acids of BSF larvae fed three agricultural by-products, namely apple pomace, mandarin waste, and oriental melon waste (mainly generated in South Korea). The highest BSF larvae crude protein and amino acid content was obtained in those fed mandarin waste compared with the other two diets (apple pomace and oriental melon waste). BSF larvae fed apple pomace had the highest crude fat, fatty acid, and lauric acid content compared with the other BSF larvae. Furthermore, all crude protein and fat content of BSF larvae fed the three agricultural by-products exceed that of the original agricultural by-products.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.30-35
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• 2013

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of the black soldier fly (bsf) larvae on growth performance, carcass rate, and fatty acid profile of chicken meat in broiler chicks. Four hundred eighty 1-d-old broilers (Ross 308) were distributed into 3 treatments with 4 pens at 30 birds per replicate. Treatments were corn-soybean meal based broiler diet (control) and the basal diet replaced with bsf at the level of 3 and 6% respectively. Viability was not different significantly. Body weight gain was higher in control than other treatments. Feed intake was not statistically different of treatments. Feed conversion ratio was lower in control than other treatments. Relative weight of breast meat was significantly increased in all treated groups than in control. But, another relative weights of chicken meat cuts (thigh, wing, neck, back) were not significantly different among the groups. In conclusion, it could be suggested that dietary supplementation of black soldier flylarvae could beneficially improved the performance on broiler.

• Proceedings of the National Institute of Ecology of the Republic of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.96-100
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• 2021

The era of mass production of agricultural and dairy systems inevitably causes a huge amount of biowastes during their processes. Modern consumption patterns of the general public also contribute to biowaste formation. Thus, processing biowastes has attracted much attention. The introduced black soldier fly (BSF) (Hermetia illucens) is considered as one of environmentally friendly management options for solving biowaste issues. However, an indigenous species, Ptecticus tenebrifer, is also a powerful decomposer that has been largely neglected. This species can be easily found on biowastes such as manure dump, agricultural wastes, and human food wastes. It can be also easily found in the field. It is even attracted to a food trap. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ecological study on this species.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.1014-1023
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• 2023

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of incorporating black soldier fly (BSF) larvae and its processed form as an alternative source of protein to fish meal (FM) on the digestibility of amino acids (AA) in weaned pigs. Four cannulated pigs with an initial bodyweight of 13.25 ± 0.25 kg and aged 30 days were subjected to a 4 × 4 Latin square design with three treatments, as well as a nitrogen-free treatment. The diets used for each treatment consisted of a FM diet, a diet containing BSF larvae meal (BSFM), and a diet containing extruded BSF (BSFE). The study was conducted over four stages, with a total duration of 28 days. The apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of protein was higher in the FM treatment compared with the BSFM. Among essential AA, the AID of Arg, His, Leu, and Thr were higher in the FM compared with the BSFM and BSFE. A greater AID of Ile and Phe was observed in pigs in the FM treatment compared with the BSFM. The average AA digestibility did not show any difference between treatments. Among non-essential AA, the AID of Ala (p = 0.054) and Glu (p = 0.064) tended to be increased in the FM compared with the BSFM. Among essential AA, the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of Arg, His, Ile, and Leu were higher in the FM compared with the BSFM. Among non-essential AA, the SID of Cys (p = 0.074) tended to be increased in the FM compared with the BSFM. In conclusion, the processing and thermal conditioning techniques utilized for BSF larvae meal showed a tendency for increased AA digestibility. Therefore, when formulating a diet, it is important to take into account the difference in AA digestibility between FM and BSFM.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.63-70
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• 2012

This study was conducted to investigated the distribution, ecological character and life cycle of Black Soldier Fly(BSF), Hermetia illucens, to determine effects of BSF on composing ability to the livestock feces. The distribution of BSF was defined in all parts of the country in Korea. Its main habitat was found to be areas near cattle sheds, feces sheds, living waste dump grounds, and food waste dump grounds. Excellent species of the bio-conversion using the livestock feces were selected out of two kinds of solider flies(Hermetia illucens and Ptecticus tenebrifer). And effects of BSF on composing ability to the livestock feces were pig feces 0.5 g, cattle feces 0.43 g and chicken feces 0.3 g per a larvae of BSF. In the examination of the ability of BSF to decompose food waste, volume of the livestock feces decreased by weight pig feces 77, cattle feces 83.62 and chicken feces 80%. Observed characteristics of BSF larvae and pupae stage were by developmental stage may be summarized as follows: size and length of larvae and pupae of BSF were higher than in pig feces and mixed sawdust treatments. In order to develop artificial indoor rearing techniques, The pupation and emergence rate were not visible the difference but important factor of the mating and egg-laying was a sun light. And it was visible the difference in mating ratio. Mating rate of H. illucens by seasonal change was the highest from May to July. Mating mostly occurred between 10 : 00 and 12 : 00 during which light intensity is high. As the egg-laying medium for artificial egg collection, calf feed and food waste were most effective. The ratio of egg-laying medium is waste food : sawdust(1 : 1) in volume. For egg-laying materials, flower foam and wood with holes were used; holes sized 3 ~ 5 mm in diameter, 7 ~ 10 mm in depth were most preferred for egg-laying.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.337-343
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• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the distribution pattern, ecological characteristics and life cycle of the Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens, BSF). The BSF was widely distributed throughout Korea. The insect was mainly found in the vicinity of and in cattle sheds, manure sheds, living waste dump grounds, and food waste dump grounds. Developmental characteristics of the BSF are as follows: the egg was long oval shaped of 887 ${\mu}m$ in the major axis and 190 ${\mu}m$ in the minor axis; it weighed 24 ${\mu}g$. Female oviposited ca. 1,000 eggs on average; eggs hatched in 81 hours under laboratory condition ($27^{\circ}C$, 60% R.H.). The duration of the larval stage was approximately $15{\sim}20$ days. The size of the last instar larvae was 21 mm. The cuticle of the pupae gradually acquired red-brown color and the size of them was 19 mm. The pupal stage was shorter for females (16 days) than males (15 days). Adults were sized about $13{\sim}20$ mm long and black-colored. The life span of adult insects was $5{\sim}8$ days for the first generation (June${\sim}$July), $7{\sim}10$ days for the second generation (Aug.${\sim}$Sept.), and $13{\sim}18$ days for the third generation (Sept.${\sim}$Oct.). Mating started on the next day of emergence and actively occurred at the third day after emergence. Mating mostly occurred between 10:00 and 16:00 during which light intensity is highest. Egg-laying started on the third day and was most frequent from the fourth to the sixth day after emergence. Similar to mating time, females oviposited mostly between 10:00 and 16:00.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.533-540
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• 2022

We evaluated a worm-based extruded pellet diet with black soldier fly Hermetia illucens larvae (BSF) meal and BSF oil for olive flounder Paralichthys olivaceus through field feeding experiments at a commercial aquafarm. We prepared two experimental diets by replacing fish meal and fish oil with BSF meal and BSF oil (BEP-1, BSF meal 7%, BSF oil 1%) and (BEP-2, BSF oil 2%), respectively. We prepared raw-fish based moist pellets (MP) for comparison between the two experimental diets. We distributed the olive flounder (220±6.29 g) in square (10 m×10 m×1 m) concrete, 100 ton tanks at a density of 1,600 fish per tank (n=3) in triplicate for each dietary treatment. We fed the diets to the fish to apparent satiation for 7 months. At the end of the feeding trial, we found no substantial differences between the groups in terms of growth performance, survival, or feed utilization. None of the diet groups showed any changes in either hematological or non-specific immune responses. The histological observation of the intestine showed that the goblet cell number and cholecystokinin-producing cell activity increased in the fish fed the BEP diet compared with the those of the fish fed the MP diet. These results indicated that dietary BSF meal and oil can be used for olive flounder without compromising growth or, hematological and histological parameters.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.227-237
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• 2013

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, is a generalist detritivore that is usually exploited for recycling environmental wastes, including food remnants. These insects can also be used to produce antibiotics for medical applications. For this purpose, flies need to be mass-reared using an automatic rearing system that generates various sounds. Insects use sound as a means of communication for mating or warning against predators. Thus, extrinsic sounds may interrupt the normal physiological processes of insects. In this study, we analyzed the physiological changes due to various sound treatments at $25^{\circ}C$ and 8:16 h (L:D) photoperiod. At 95 dB, larvae were exposed to different sound frequencies (0-5,000 Hz). The treated larvae were adversely affected by the high-frequency sounds and showed significant reduction in pupation and adult emergence. Different sound intensities (0-105 dB) at 5,000 Hz caused significant changes in the pupation and survival of the adults at 85 dB or above. Under a stress sound condition (5,000 Hz, 95 dB), the BSF larvae exhibited aberrations in the expression of genes related to the immune system and digestion. These results indicate that high-frequency sound treatments at or above 85 dB act as a stress sound to BSF development.

• Journal of Sericultural and Entomological Science
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• v.51 no.2
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• pp.107-113
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• 2013

The black soldier fly larvae are able to decompose various organic wastes such as livestock manures and food wastes. We tested whether the quality of the insect derived compost, i.e. larval feces, was comparable to that of a commercial fertilizer. Chemical analysis of Hermetia. illucens compost was suitable as a fertilizer. When the kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) was raised on the culture soil treated with the H. illucens compost, the growth of leaf area, total dry weight and leaf dry weight increased significantly. The H. illucens compost is thought to act as an increasing factor of RGR (relative growth rate) from the beginning of growth and also had a great effect on the relative growth rate throughout the late stage of growth. There is high statistical significance between NAR (net assimilation rate) and RGR (relative growth rate), but no significance between RGR and LAR (leaf assimilation rate) of the treatments. In addition, the treatment of H. illucens compost promoted the thickness of leaves from the beginning of growth and the tendency of thickening leaves from the beginning of growth and the effect continued throughout the late period of growth. When mixed with 50% of H. illucens compost rather than 25%, it showed the greater effect on the plant growth.