This book draws on a wide range of scientific research on the contribution that insects make to ecosystems, diets, food security and livelihoods in both developed and developing countries.

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Edible insects: future prospects for food and feed security

With a growing world population and increasingly demanding consumers, the production of sufficient protein from livestock, poultry, and fish represents a serious challenge for the future. Approximately 1,900 insect species are eaten worldwide, mainly in developing countries. They constitute quality food and feed, have high feed conversion ratios, and emit low levels of greenhouse gases. Some insect species can be grown on organic side streams, reducing environmental contamination and transforming waste into high-protein feed that can replace increasingly more expensive compound feed ingredients, such as fish meal. This requires the development of costeffective, automated mass-rearing facilities that provide a reliable, stable, and safe product. In the tropics, sustainable harvesting needs to be assured and rearing practices promoted, and in general, the food resource needs to be revalorized. In the Western world, consumer acceptability will relate to pricing, perceived environmental benefits, and the development of tasty insect-derived protein products.

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Potential of Insects as Food and Feed in Assuring Food Security

State-of-the-art on use of insects as animal feed.

Edible insects, a traditional food all over the world, are highly nutritious with high fat, protein and mineral contents depending on the species and thus represent a noteworthy alternative food and feed source and a potential substitute e. g. for fishmeal in feed formulae. Research is required to develop and automatize cost-effective, energy-efficient and microbially safe rearing, harvest and post harvest processing technologies as well as sanitation procedures to ensure food and feed safety and produce safe insect products at a reasonable price on an industrial scale especially in comparison to meat products. In addition, consumer acceptance needs to be established. Potential and challenges along the production chain of insects for food and feed are discussed based on published data and future research needs are derived from recent literature. Industrial relevance text With the increasing demand in alternative protein sources world-wide, insects represent an innovative food and feed source rich in high quality protein as well as other beneficial nutritional ingredients such as fat, minerals and vitamins. Despite traditional knowledge about insects and their harvest in the wild, for the industrial mass production of safe insects and insect products for consumption and for processing into food and feed, the development of rearing, harvest as well as post-harvest technologies is required.

Potential and challenges of insects as an innovative source for food and feed production

Conversion of organic material by black soldier fly larvae: establishing optimal feeding rates.

A value added manure management system using the black soldier fly

The black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), is a nonpest tropical and warm-temperate region insect that is useful for managing large concentrations of animal manure and other biosolids. Manure management relying on wild fly oviposition has been successful in several studies. However, confidence in this robust natural system was low and biological studies were hampered by the lack of a dependable source of eggs and larvae. Larvae had been reared easily by earlier investigators, but achieving mating had been problematic. We achieved mating reliably in a 2 by 2 by 4-m screen cage in a 7 by 9 by 5-m greenhouse where sunlight and adequate space for aerial mating were available. Mating occurred during the shortest days of winter if the sun was not obscured by clouds. Adults were provided with water, but no food was required. Techniques for egg collection and larval rearing are given. Larvae were fed a moist mixture of wheat bran, corn meal, and alfalfa meal. This culture has been maintained for 3 yr. Maintainance of a black soldier fly laboratory colony will allow for development of manure management systems in fully enclosed animal housing and in colder regions.

https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-medical-entomology/volume-39/issue-4/0022-2585-39.4.695/Rearing-Methods-for-the-Black-Soldier-Fly-Diptera-Stratiomyidae/10.1603/0022-2585-39.4.695.pdf

Rearing Methods for the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Hermetia illucens (L.) was reared on three larval diets to determine their effects on preimaginal development and selected adult life-history traits. Prepupal and adult characteristics were examined for individuals reared on each diet and compared with field-collected prepupae and corresponding emergent adults. Diet did not significantly influence development or survivorship to the prepupal stage. However, adult emergence for all diets was significantly less than that determined for the wild population. Development time from egg to adult for individuals reared on the diets at 27°C ranged from 40 to 43 d with the larval stage lasting 22–24 d. We observed >96% larval survivorship to the prepupal stage and 21–27% adult emergence. Females accounted for 55–60% of emergent adults across treatments. Specimens reared on each diet were reduced in size, longevity, and calorie content in comparison to specimens from the wild population. Males within diet treatments and field-collected specimens were significantly smaller than females and emerged 1–2 d before females. Additionally, males reared on the diets and provided water lived for 9 d, whereas females lived for 8 d. This information indicates the diets might be used for rearing soldier flies. However, further refinement is needed to produce adults similar to those found in nature.

https://bioone.org/journals/Annals-of-the-Entomological-Society-of-America/volume-95/issue-3/0013-8746(2002)095[0379:SLHTOB]2.0.CO;2/Selected-Life-History-Traits-of-Black-Soldier-Flies-Diptera/10.1603/0013-8746(2002)095[0379:SLHTOB]2.0.CO;2.pdf

Selected Life-History Traits of Black Soldier Flies (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Reared on Three Artificial Diets

Most information on the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.), is limited to its use as a biological control and waste management agent. Little is known about its mating and oviposition activities. Latency from emergence to mating and oviposition for colony-reared black soldier flies placed in a 1.5 × 1.5 × 3 m nylon cage located in a greenhouse was determined. Sixty-nine percent of mating occurred 2 d after eclosion and 70% of oviposition 4 d after eclosion. Time of day and light intensity significantly correlated with mating (r2 = 0.49; P < 0.0001), while time of day, temperature, and humidity significantly correlated with oviposition (r2 = 0.58; P < 0.0001). Latency after emergence significantly correlated with mating (r2 = 0.99; P < 0.0001) and oviposition (r2 = 0.99; P < 0.0001). A second experiment was conducted to examine oviposition preference of the black soldier fly. Adults were allowed to oviposit in Gainesville house fly, Musca domestica L., larval media with and without 5-d-old black sold...

Factors Influencing Mating and Oviposition of Black Soldier Flies (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) in a Colony

SUMMARY We describe the lekking behavior of the blacksoldier fly. If this lekking behavior at specific hab-itats is needed for H. illucens mating to occur, theidentification and conservation of these sites nearCAFOs would be important. Without these sites,we hypothesize that mating may be reduced ornot occur at all, resulting in a reduction in the sol-dier fly population and associated benefits. Wewould like to thank J. Ruberson and J. Greene fortheir helpful comments on this manuscript. REFERENCES CITED COPELLO, A. 1926. Biologia de Hermetia illuscens Latr.Rev. Soc. Ent. Argentina 1: 23-27.FuRMAN, D. P., R. D. YOUNG, AND E. P. CATrS. 1959.Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus) as a factor in the natu-ral control of Musca domestica Linnaeus. J. Econ.Entomol. 52: 917-921.JAMES, M. T. 1935. The genus Hermetia in the UnitedStates (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Bull. Brooklyn Ent.Soc. 30: 165-170.MAy, B. M. 1961. The occurrence in New Zealand andthe life history of the soldier fly Hermetia illucens(L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). N.Z. J. Sci. 4: 55-65.NEWTON, G. L., C. V. BOORAM, R. W. BARKER, AND O. M.HALE. 1977. Dried Hermetia illucens larvae meal asa supplement for swine. J. Anim. Sci. 44: 395-399.O'NEILL, K. M. 1983. Territoriality, body size, and spac-ing in males of the bee wolf Philanthus basilaris(Hymenoptera: Sphecidae). Behaviour 86: 295-321.SHEPPARD, D. C. 1983. House fly and lesser fly controlutilizing the black soldier fly in manure manage-ment systems for caged laying hens. Environ. Ento-mol. 12: 1439-1442.SHEPPARD, D. C., AND G. L. NEWTON. 2000. Valuable by-products of a manure management system using theblack soldier fly-A literature review with some cur-rent results. Animal, Agricultural and Food ProcessingWastes: Proceedings of the 8th International Sympo-sium. James A. Moore ed. American Society of Agricul-tural Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan. pp. 35-39.SHEPPARD, D. C., G. L. NEWTON, S. A. THOMPSON, ANDS. SAVAGE. 1994. A value added manure manage-ment system using the black soldier fly. Bio. Tech. 50:275-279.TINGLE, F. C., E. R. MITCHELL, AND W. COPELAND.

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D. Craig Sheppard

Papers

A value added manure management system using the black soldier fly

Rearing Methods for the Black Soldier Fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)

Selected Life-History Traits of Black Soldier Flies (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Reared on Three Artificial Diets

Factors Influencing Mating and Oviposition of Black Soldier Flies (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) in a Colony

Lekking behavior of the black soldier fly (diptera: stratiomyidae)