Effects of aeration rate and feed on growth,productivity and nutrient composition of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae

Black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) are widely cultivated as bioconversion agents. These larvae are known to be highly sensitive to changes in the external environment, such as temperature and relative humidity. Therefore, a rearing hive equipped with an instrumentation system known as the Modular Fly Hive was designed to cultivate black soldier larvae. This study aimed to determine the effects of aeration rate (0 – 0.84 m³/s.) and feed type (coconut endosperm waste and soybean curd) on growth and productivity of black soldier fly cultivated in Modular Fly Hives as well as well as feed digestibility and nutrient composition of the larval biomass. Increasing aeration rate decreased the average temperature and relative humidity within the hives. The results showed that the larvae demonstrated a sigmoidal growth curve for all types of feed and the type of feed significantly affects the average wet weight and length of the larvae. The greatest dry biomass productivity (52.85 ± 3.85 g/m²/day) was observed when the larvae were cultivated using soybean curd residue with an aeration rate of 0.84 m³/s, while the lowest dry biomass productivity (35.27 ± 9.72 g/m²/day) was observed when the larvae were cultivated using coconut endosperm waste without aeration. Proximate analysis revealed that the larval biomass had total protein, lipid, ash and carbohydrate content in the range of 37.20 – 48.60%, 9.61 – 20.02%, 4.80 – 6.40%, 33.86 – 38.70%, respectively. Amino acid in the biomass were dominated by glutamic acid (11.11–12.30%), aspartic acid (8.25 – 10.35%), leucine (8.09 – 8.57%), and lysine (6.74 – 8.14%). Lipid isolated from the larval biomass were mainly composed of lauric acid (28.35–61.68%), linoleic acid (6.27 – 30.29%), palmitic acid (7.62 – 15.23%), and myristic acid (5.05 – 14.34%).