Performance of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae reared on organic waste diets and pupal chitin and chitosan yield

Recently, much research has been oriented towards the influence of different food wastes and agricultural by-products on the final larval biomass and chemical composition of the insect species Hermetia illucens L. (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). However, there is a gap in the literature regarding the possible relationship between the feeding substrate of H. illucens larvae and chitin. In this context, in the present study, larvae of H. illucens derived from two populations (i.e., UNIPI and UTH), were reared on different diets composed of fruits, vegetables, and meat. Based on the results, the larval survival was high for all diets tested. Larval growth in terms of weight gain, larval length, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) depended on the composition of each diet. The chitin and chitosan composition of larvae, reared on different substrates, did not reveal significant differences. Given the fact that the feeding substrate represent a significant cost in the industrial production of insects, its correlation with a high value product (i.e. chitosan) is important. On the other hand, as the prepupal stage of H. illucens is currently used as animal feed, the metabolization of chitin by farmed animals when the larvae or prepupae were offered as feed could have adverse effects. Thus, depending on the final product that is to be produced, industries could benefit from the establishment of a suitable diet.