Cultivation of black soldier fly larvae on almond byproducts: impacts of aeration and moisture on larvae growth and composition

BACKGROUND: The increasing production of almonds worldwide has resulted in the significant generation of byproduct streams that require end uses. One potential use for byproducts is for cultivation of additional food sources including insects. Studies were performed to determine if black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) could be cultivated on almond byproducts (hulls and shells) and to examine the effect of aeration and moisture on larvae growth and hull composition. RESULTS: Increasing aeration from 0.04 to 0.36 mL min(−1) g dry weight(−1) tripled the harvest weight of larvae and increased larvae yield by a factor of five. Larvae calcium content increased by 18% with an increase in aeration from 0.04 to 0.95 mL min(−1) g dry weight(−1). Moisture content also affected harvest dry weight and yield; increasing moisture content from 480 g kg(−1)(wet basis) to 680 g kg(−1) increased harvest weight by 56% and yield by a factor of 2. Variables did not affect larvae methionine and cysteine content. Low moisture content and aeration rate yielded an environment that supported microbial consumption of hulls over larvae consumption and growth. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that almond hulls are a suitable feedstock for larvae production under controlled management of moisture content and aeration. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.