Performance of Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens, Larvae during valorization of organic wastes with changing quality

Abstract

Organic wastes are one of the major problems in many cities. A common treatment for the wastes usually by sanitary landfill, composting, or burning. However, many cities of developing countries lack the effort to collect, separate, and transform organic waste lead to an increasing pile of organic wastes and the cost of treatment. Bioconversion of organic wastes by larvae of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) into versatile prepupae could be considered as a solution for this problem as this process give economic value to organic wastes. Studies in Indonesia showed the high potency of this insect to apply for managing organic wastes. However, most of the studies only focused on one type of wastes which is only available from standardizing industrial systems, not municipal systems, and small industries which are the main organic producers in Indonesia. In this study, BSFL was fed only one type of organic wastes showed a shorter development period. Changes in feedstock quality from low protein to high protein material generally produced lower survival rates and weight with a longer development period. The result indicated the importance of the nutrition content early period feedstock to produce high-quality larvae and more sustainable organic waste management.