The Use of probiotics in fermenting food wastes for production of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Abstract

Larvae of the black soldier fly (BSF) can process a wide variety of organic wastes and convert them into larval body primarily consisting of protein. Production of larvae with high-quality protein content is affected the rearing system, one of them is quality of feeding substrates. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of food wastes fermented by probiotic culture as the feeding substrates for producing the BSF larvae. The probiotic cultures used were Lactiplantibacillus plantarum E2 and Limosilactobacillus fermentum F5, while the food wastes were derived from a seafood restautrant. Four rearing substrates were compared: food wastes fermented by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum E2 (P1), food wastes fermented by Limosilactobacillus fermentum F5 (P2), food wastes fermented by consortium (Lactiplantibacillus plantarum E2 + Limosilactobacillus fermentum F5) (P3), and food wastes without probiotics (P0). Before the feeding substrates were applied, the food wastes were fermented by the probiotics for 10 days. Six-day-old BSF larvae were reared for 14 days on each fermented substrate. The larval growth performance observed were fresh weight, length and width, while the nutrient content of the larvae was protein and fat content. The waste reduction index was also measured. The data showed that the best larval growth performance was shown in P3 substrate, with fresh weight of 287.27 g, larva length and width of 19.93 mm and 3.53 mm, respectively. In P3 substrate also could produce the larvae with the best nutrient content, with protein and fat content by 12.53% and 16.09%, respectively. The waste reduction index value of P3 substrate was 6.12%. The duration of BSF larvae rearing required to be extended to obtain an increased average protein content. This finding of this study could be helpful for improving the quality of BSF larvae by applying consortium of probiotic cultures in fermenting the feeding substrates.