• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1408-1417
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• 2022

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether dietary black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens, HI) larvae oil (HILO) could serve as an alternative fat source to soybean oil (SBO) in laying hen diets. Methods: We randomly assigned 25-week-old Hy-line Brown laying hens (n = 144) to receive (n = 6 hens/group; eight replicates) a control or an experimental diet in which SBO was replaced with 50% (50HILO) or 100% HILO (100HILO). Results: Dietary HILO did not negatively affect body weight or productive performance during the study. The eggs also had similar quality parameters, proximate composition, and cholesterol levels. However, the yolk color index was significantly higher (p<0.01) in the 100HILO than in the other groups. Dietary HILO significantly altered the composition of fatty acids (FAs) in abdominal fat and eggs. Total saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and total polyunsaturated FAs (PUFAs) were significantly increased and decreased in the 50HILO and 100HILO groups, respectively, compared with those in the control group (p<0.001 and p<0.0001, respectively). Specifically, the medium-chain FAs lauric and myristic acids were remarkably increased in the abdominal fat of laying hens fed HILO (p<0.0001), whereas only myristic acid increased in eggs (p<0.0001). Undesirable heavy metal (aluminum, fluorine, arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium) concentrations were below permissible limits in eggs. Conclusion: We considered that HILO could be an alternative dietary fat to SBO for laying hens with maintained productive performance and good egg quality.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.12
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• pp.1409-1414
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• 2016

In the larvae of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, innate immunity mechanisms are activated in response to various pathogens and stimulants, resulting in the expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). To induce the mass production of AMPs, H. illucens fifth instar larvae were immunized with five different kinds of bacteria. We isolated from the hemolymph of the H. illucens larvae after bacterial challenge, and their antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli) were measured using the inhibition zone assay. Among these five different kinds of bacteria, the hemolymph of Bacillus subtilis-challenged H. illucens larvae showed the strongest antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive bacteria and Gram-negative bacteria. The antimicrobial activity of the hemolymph of $1{\times}10^9cfu/ml$ B. subtilis-challenged H. illucens peaks at 24 hr at 48 hr post-infection and gradually declines with time. Moreover, the immunized hemolymph also showed strong antimicrobial activity against various poultry pathogens such as S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, and S. pullorum. These results suggest that the expression of AMP genes in B. subtilis-challenged H. illucens is up-regulated by innate immune responses, and that B. subtilis-challenged H. illucens overexpressing AMPs may be useful as a feed additive in livestock diets to reduce the need for antibiotics.

• 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.

• 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.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.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.25-30
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• 2018

The larvae of Hermetia. illucens have a high probability of coming into contact with microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Therefore, the survival of H. illucens is primarily the protection of their own against microbial infection. This effect depends on the development of the innate immune system. Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs) exhibit antimicrobial activity against other bacterial strains and can provide important data to understand the basis of the innate immunity of H. illucens. In this study, we injected larvae with Enterococcus. faecalis (gram-positive bacteria) and Serratia. marcescens as (gram-negative bacteria) to test the hypothesis that H. illucens is protected from infection by its immune-related gene expression repertoire. To identify the inducible immune-related genes, we performed and cataloged the transcriptomes by RNA-Seq analysis. We compared the transcriptomes of whole larvae and obtained a DNA fragment of 465 bp including the poly (A) tail by RACE as a novel H. illucens immune-related gene against bacteria. A novel target mRNA expression was higher in immunized larvae with E. faecalis and S. marcescens groups than non-immunized group. We expect our study to provide evidence that the global RNA-Seq approach allowed for the identification of a gene of interest which was further analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR, together with genes chosen from the available literature.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.171-174
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• 2009

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. The results show that the chemical composition and the growth rate of cabbages grown on the insect derived compost are virtually identical to those on the commercial fertilizer. Therefore the insect derived compost will be an ideal substitute to commercial fertilizers.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.181-185
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• 2012

Chymotrypsin serine protease is one of the main digestive proteases in the midgut of and is involved in various essential processes. In a previous study, a gene encoding a chymotrypsin-like protease, Hi-SP1, was cloned from the larvae of Hermetia illucens and characterized. In this study, we produced the recombinant chymotrypsin-like protease Hi-SP1 in Escherichia coli cells. The molecular weight of the recombinant Hi-SP1 was estimated to be approximately 26 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western-blotting. Chymotrypsin activity was detected when AAPF was used as the substrate. Examination of the effects of temperature and pH revealed that the proteolytic activity of recombinant Hi-SP1 decreased markedly at temperatures above $30^{\circ}C$, and the optimum pH was found to be 10.0.

• 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.