EFFECTS OF DIET AS POTENTIAL MASS REARING OF BLACK SOLDIER FLY, Hermetia illucens L.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the suitable types of food for rearing and increasing the population of the black soldier fly larvae using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). Five types of food were tested: Chinese kale, cabbage, watermelon, papaya, and pineapple, with 20 replicates. The experiment started with one-day-old larvae and continued for 56 days in plastic containers measuring 20x30x15 cm., with 200 larvae per container. The results showed that black soldier fly larvae could complete their life cycle and produce eggs in all experimental groups. Larvae fed with Chinese kale and cabbage had the shortest development period (48–49 days) compared to those fed with fruits (50–56 days). In terms of body weight, larvae fed with Chinese kale exhibited the highest weight at all developmental stages. The final larval stage reached a weight of 0.175 g/larva, which was significantly different from the groups fed with watermelon, papaya, and pineapple. In the pre-pupal and pupal stages, larvae fed with Chinese kale had the highest weights at 0.189 g/larva and 0.084 g/larva, respectively, but showed no significant difference from the cabbage-fed group. The survival rate from larval to adult stage was highest in the pineapple-fed group (83.23%), though not significantly different from the papaya-fed (80.52%) and watermelon-fed (78.21%) groups. Meanwhile, the survival rates of larvae fed with Chinese kale and cabbage were below 70%. These findings suggest that food type affects the growth and survival rate of black soldier fly larvae. Chinese kale and cabbage promote faster development and higher body weight, while pineapple enhances the highest survival rate.