Growth of Black Soldier Fly Larvae Reared on Organic Side-Streams

Laurens Broeckx, Lotte Frooninckx, Laurien Slegers, Siebe Berrens, Isabelle Noyens, Sarah Goossens, Geert Verheyen, Ann Wuyts and Sabine Van Miert
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Laurens Broeckx: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Lotte Frooninckx: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Laurien Slegers: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Siebe Berrens: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Isabelle Noyens: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Sarah Goossens: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Geert Verheyen: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Ann Wuyts: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium
Sabine Van Miert: RADIUS, Thomas More University of Applied Sciences, Kleinhoefstraat 4, 2440 Geel, Belgium

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 23, 1-20

Abstract: Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae may play a role in a circular economy by upcycling low-value organic streams into high value biomass. In this paper, the capacity of BSF larvae to process 12 organic side-streams (mono-streams) and two standard substrates (chicken start mash and Gainesville diet) was investigated. Survival, larval mass, feed conversion ratio, and waste reduction were evaluated in relation to the proximate composition of the side-streams used. Survival rates larger than 80% were observed for 10 of the organic mono-streams and the two standard substrates. Maximum mean larval weight ranged from 38.3 mg up to 176.4 mg regardless of high survival and was highly correlated with substrate crude protein content. Feed conversion ratio (range 1.58–8.90) and waste reduction (range 17.0–58.9%) were similar to values reported in other studies in the literature. On low protein substrates (e.g., apple pulp), survival rates remained high, however, possibly due to protein deficiency, limited larval growth was observed. It is concluded that several low value organic side-streams can successfully be processed by BSF larvae, thereby opening the possibility of lowering the costs of BSF farming. Potentially mixing nutritionally distinct mono-streams into a mixed substrate might improve BSF performance. However, more research is needed for optimizing diets to guarantee production of BSF larvae of constant yield and quality.

Keywords: black soldier fly; feed conversion ratio; side-streams; nutritional composition; waste reduction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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