Journal
TROPICAL MEDICINE & INTERNATIONAL HEALTH
Volume 19, Issue 1, Pages 14-22Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12228
Keywords
Hermetia illucens; sanitation; prepupal yield; biomass; feed conversion rates
Funding
- Sanitation Ventures Project, through a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
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ObjectivesTo determine the capacity of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) to convert fresh human faeces into larval biomass under different feeding regimes, and to determine how effective BSFL are as a means of human faecal waste management. MethodsBlack soldier fly larvae were fed fresh human faeces. The frequency of feeding, number of larvae and feeding ratio were altered to determine their effects on larval growth, prepupal weight, waste reduction, bioconversion and feed conversion rate (FCR). ResultsThe larvae that were fed a single lump amount of faeces developed into significantly larger larvae and prepupae than those fed incrementally every 2days; however, the development into pre-pupae took longer. The highest waste reduction was found in the group containing the most larvae, with no difference between feeding regimes. At an estimated 90% pupation rate, the highest bioconversion (16-22%) and lowest, most efficient FCR (2.0-3.3) occurred in groups that contained 10 and 100 larvae, when fed both the lump amount and incremental regime. ConclusionThe prepupal weight, bioconversion and FCR results surpass those from previous studies into BSFL management of swine, chicken manure and municipal organic waste. This suggests that the use of BSFL could provide a solution to the health problems associated with poor sanitation and inadequate human waste management in developing countries.
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