The effect of different diets on biological characteristics of Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera:Stratiomyidae)

In the present study, the effect of 15 food diets was studied on the biological parameters of black soldier fly, Hermetia illucensi ncluding chicken starter powder (CSP) (A), CSP (90%) + Cannabis seeds (10%) (B), CSP (90%) + flax seeds (10%) (C), chicken waste powder (CWP) (D), CSP (90%) + CWP (10%) (E), CSP (90%) + meat waste powder (10%) (F), CSP (90%) + fish waste powder (10% ) (G), apple waste (H), banana waste (I), bread waste (J), biscuit waste (K), pasta waste (L), tomato leaves (M), fish waste powder (N) and meat waste powder (O). Experiments were carried out under 28 ± 2 ˚C, 60 ± 10 % R.H. and 16:8 L: D conditions. There was a significant difference in the larval developmental time among different treatments. The highest and lowest larval development time was in diet H (21.902 ±0.206 days) and A (15.098 ± 0.126 days), respectively. Because the mortality was extremely high (100%) in treatments K, J, L, N and O none of the larvae could complete their larval stage. The highest pupa development time was seen in diet H (24.922 ± 0.185 days), which had a considerable difference with all treatments while the lowest pupa developmental time was in diet D (22.216 ± 0.256 days). Furthermore, in the case of longevity, the longest adult life span of the female and male was obtained on treatment D (17.632 ±0.191 and 18.438 ± 0.215 days, respectively) which was significantly more than other diets. The highest larval weight was in treatment I (banana waste) (0.080 ±0.001 gr) but in contrast, the lowest pupal weight was observed in this diet (0.036 ± 0.006 gr). Also, the total fecundity of female flies was in treatment B (554.8 ± 49.4 eggs) which was significantly more than others. It seems that the mixed chicken starter diet with Cannabis seeds has a high potential for mass rearing of this insect since it causes positive effects on the biological characteristics, especially on producing more offspring rather than other food diets.