Black Soldier Flies Help Pepper Grow Meadows. Brussels sprouts. Kale. Mustard. Lettuce and arugula. Now red chili peppers joined the list of plants benefiting from soil amendments derived from black soldier fly frass. It is likely that this list will continue to grow as research in this area expands. Sanjaya, Y., Surakusumah, W., Pratama, A.M. …Read More
ABOUT THE BLACK SOLDIER FLY
Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, is a common and ubiquitous fly species. It is widely spread throughout the world, although tends to prefer warmer areas. It has also been known to science for a long time, first described by Carl Linnaeus, the eighteenth-century scientist who is credited to be the father of modern taxonomy. Until recently, however, they were either ignored by most people as just another bug buzzing around outdoors or considered to be a nuisance pest infesting manure on animal farms. The situation began to change in 1990s, with the idea of harvesting their larvae and using them for animal feed increasingly gaining traction ever since.
Feeding maggots to poultry is not a particularly groundbreaking concept: farmers had their free-range chickens digging through compost piles for centuries. However, black soldier flies are very well suited for bringing this process up to an industrial scale.
They can consume a wide variety of wastes, have high bioconversion rates (which means that they eat a lot and grow fast and large), do not readily accumulate organic toxins from their feeds, are relatively easy to handle, and do not seem to succumb readily to infectious diseases. Larval bodies are rich in protein and fat; moreover, they can serve as a source of a valuable biopolymer called chitin and several biologically active compounds with potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry. Adult black soldier flies are fairly prolific even by insect standards, with a single female laying 800-900 eggs. Unlike some other flies, they are also not particularly bothersome to humans and other animals because they do not really need anything from them directly.
None of these characteristics are unique to black soldier flies. As insect farming goes mainstream, the number of domesticated waste recyclers will probably increase. Nonetheless, black soldier flies appear to have a combination of characteristics to become a species of choice for recycling organic wastes. Similarly, chickens are not the only domestic bird species; however, they have a suite of traits that make them the most popular one.
BLACK SOLDIER FLY BLOG POSTS
Black Soldier Flies Enter Tissue Culture
Black Soldier Flies Enter Tissue Culture While we are not at the point of cloning black soldier flies yet, they are definitely already a very prominent object of research interest. Saathoff, S., Goodman, C.L., Haas, E., Mettelmann, I. and Stanley, D., 2024. A cell line derived from the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). …Read More
Black Soldier Fly Genome Sequences
Black Soldier Fly Genome Sequences Genomes for two more black soldier fly populations have been sequenced. This will be useful for genetic research and for quality control of captive strains used in mass production. Cai, Z., Hansen, L.S., Laursen, S.F., Nielsen, H.M., Bahrndorff, S., Tomberlin, J.K., Kristensen, T.N., Sørensen, J.G. and Sahana, G., 2024. Whole-genome …Read More
Black Soldier Flies Tolerate Microplastics
Black Soldier Flies Tolerate Microplastics On one hand, this is a good thing because they can still recycle wastes that are contaminated with microplastics. On the other hand, black soldier flies may not be very useful in removing them from the substrates. Time will tell. Piersanti, S., Rebora, M., Turchetti, B., Salerno, G., Ruscetta, M., …Read More
Black Soldier Flies Take Drugs
Black Soldier Flies Take Drugs Out of substrates that they inhabit. In a recent study, black soldier fly larvae could digest several commonly used veterinary drugs to some extent. However, they still contained some of them in their bodies. Just as with heavy metals, depending on a situation this can be a good thing, or …Read More
Black Soldier Flies Rock
Black Soldier Flies Rock After all, they are an amazing species that is a versatile tool in improving the sustainability of both food production and waste management. Black soldier flies are also into heavy metal(s), as in accumulating them from feeding substrates. Unfortunately, this may prevent using black soldier flies for recycling certain types of …Read More
Insecticides Hurt Black Soldier Flies
Insecticides Hurt Black Soldier Flies This is not a major revelation. Insecticides kill insects (hence the name). Black soldier flies are insects. Therefore, insecticides kill black soldier flies, or at least make them sick. This is an important consideration in recycling wastes. Since insecticides are widely used in agriculture, their residues are likely to be …Read More
Black Soldier Flies Power Trucks
Black Soldier Flies Power Trucks And other diesel engines. At least potentially, if economics of the process can be worked out. For safety reasons, some of the substrates suitable for rearing black soldier flies, such as carcasses of diseased animals or various manures, cannot be used to grow flies designated for animal feeds. However, they …Read More
Horses Eat Black Soldier Flies
Horses Eat Black Soldier Flies Horses have just joined a long list of animals that can have black soldier flies as an ingredient in their feed. This is the first study on the subject that I know; therefore, additional work will be needed to figure out the details. Still, this is encouraging news. Burron, S., …Read More
Young Black Soldier Flies Have More Sex
Young Black Soldier Flies Have More Sex Not the most unexpected finding, but it is nice that somebody put an effort into documenting this. Dickerson, A.J., Lemke, N.B., Li, C. and Tomberlin, J.K., 2024. Impact of age on the reproductive output of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, toae107 The current study examined …Read More