Hermetia illucens, known colloquially as the black soldier fly, is a widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae. Black soldier fly larvae are commonly utilized in composting systems due to their ability to rapidly break down food waste. In recent years, H. illucens has increasingly been gaining attention because of its hyperaccumulation of protein and fats via consumption of renewable substrates.
Distribution This species is native to the Neotropical realm, but in recent decades has spread across all continents, becoming virtually cosmopolitan. It is present in parts of North America and Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula, southern France, Italy, Croatia, Malta, the Canary Islands, and Switzerland, and on the Black Sea coast of Russia in Krasnodar. It can also be found in the Afrotropical realm, the Australasian realm, the east Palaearctic realm, the Nearctic realm, North Africa, Southern Africa, and the Indomalayan realm, including South Asia such as India and Pakistan.
Description
The adults of H. illucens measure about 16 millimetres (5⁄8 in) long. These medium-sized flies have a predominantly black body, with metallic reflections ranging from blue to green on the thorax and sometimes with a reddish end of the abdomen. The second abdominal tergite has translucent areas, from which the Latin specific epithet derives. The head is wide, with very developed eyes. The antennae are about twice the length of the head. The legs are black with whitish tarsi. The wings are membranous; at rest, they are folded horizontally on the abdomen and overlapped. H. illucens is a mimic fly, very close in size, color, and appearance to the organ pipe mud dauber wasp and its relatives. The mimicry of this particular kind of wasp is especially enhanced by the fly's elongated and wasp-like antennae, pale hind tarsi, and the presence of two small, transparent "windows" in the basal abdominal segments that make the fly appear to have a narrow "wasp waist". Black soldier fly larvae can be differentiated from blowfly or housefly larvae by a thin gray-black stripe on their posterior ends.
Lifecycle
An adult female lays approximately 200 to 600 eggs at a time. These eggs are typically deposited in crevices or on surfaces above or adjacent to decaying matter such as manure or compost, and hatch in about 4 days. Freshly emerged larvae are 1.0 millimetre (0.04 in) long, being able to reach a length of 25 millimetres (1 in) and weight of 0.10 to 0.22 grams (1.5 to 3.4 gr) by the end of larval stage. The larvae are able to feed on a wide variety of organic matter, adapting to diets with different nutrient content. Studies using artificial diets indicate that larval survival and bioconversion efficiency depend strongly on substrate hydration levels and macronutrient balance. The larval stage lasts from 18 to 36 days, depending on the food substrate provided to the larvae, of which the post-feeding (prepupal) stage lasts around 7 days. The larval stage can be prolonged by months due to low temperature or lack of food. The pupal stage lasts from 1 to 2 weeks. Adults can live typically 47 to 73 days when provided with water and food, such as sugar in captivity or nectar in the wild, or survive for about 8 to 10 days on fat reserves gathered during larval stage when water is provided.
Human relevance and use Neither larvae nor adults are considered to be agricultural pests or disease vectors. Black soldier fly larvae play a role similar to that of redworms as essential decomposers in breaking down organic substrates and returning nutrients to the soil. The larvae have voracious appetites and can be used for composting household food scraps and agricultural waste products. Additionally, black soldier fly larvae are an alternative source of protein for aquaculture, animal feed, and pet food. The larvae are produced and processed in industrial-scale insect factories globally by biotechnology companies such as LIVIN farms InnovaFeed, and Protix, the latter operating the world's largest insect factory farm in the Netherlands.
As decomposers in composting Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are used to compost waste or convert the waste into animal feed. Waste streams include fresh manure and food wastes of both animal and vegetable origin. Fly larvae are among the most efficient animals at converting biomass into feed. When the larvae have completed their larval development through six instars, they enter a stage called the "prepupa" wherein they cease to eat, and tend to migrate toward cool, dark, and dry substrates to pupate. This prepupal migration instinct is used by grub composting bins to self-harvest the mature larvae. These containers have ramps or holes on the sides to allow the prepupae to climb out of the composter and drop into a collection area. Black soldier fly larvae are beneficial for use as composters in the following ways:
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