Title : Production of black soldier fly larvae Hermetia illucens (L. 1758) as a control tool against the proliferation of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) in Benin
Abstract:
Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is widely studied for the use of its larvae as a source of protein in animal production and in aquaculture. The aim of the study is to produce Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) with substrates based on Water Hyacinth (WH) leaves. Five different diets were formulated based on WH leaves and soybean bran with an arithmetic progression of 25% from 0 to 100% of WH leaves. The experimental design used is a complete random block consisting of 15 bowls arranged in triplicate and each containing 200 larvaes of Hermetia illucens with an average individual weight of 0.02±0.01 g. At the end of the experiment, we notice a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the different parameters. The Daily Weight Gain (DWG) varied from 2.54±0.09 g (R4) to 4.52±0.02 (R0). Production varied from 50.87 ± 1.79 g / kg of substrate (R4) to 90.56 ± 0.54 g / kg of substrate (R0) and the rate of degradation of the substrates which varied from 42.93 ±1.79% (R4) to 65.00±2.88% (R0). The survival rate varied from 91.33±1.92% (R4) to 99.00±0.28% (R0). According the Z correlation test, a high correlation (81.8%) is observed between the nitrogen content of the substrate and the DWG of BSFL, as well as the degradation rate of the substrate (82.8%). The same observation is with the organic matter content of the substrate which is highly correlated with the DWG (97.6%) and the degradation rate of the substrate (91.6%). According to effect of substrates on the nutritional quality of the larvae, we notice a significant difference (p < 0.05) between the different treatments. The protein content varied from 31.47±0.33% (R4) to 40.64±0.32% (R0). The lipid content varied from 15.36±0.12% (R4) to 30.44±0.18% (R0).
Keywords: Black Soldier Fly, production, water hyacinth, valorization
