Larval meal of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) is suitable for feeding whiteleg shrimps (Penaeus vannamei) under practical conditions in a modern closed-loop system
- 23.09.2025
- English Articles
- Timo Stadtlander
- Kristoffer Deininger
- Christoph Sandrock
- Franziska Schindler
- Bert Wecker
- Jens Wohlfahrt
- Andreas Lemme
- Christian Lambertz
Peer reviewed / Manuscript (original) submitted: 4 September 2024; revision accepted: 17 February 2025
Introduction
Livestock farming is increasingly criticized due to its high consumption of resources. This is primarily due to the necessary cultivation of feed, the large-scale use of fertilizers, and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide). In the case of monogastric animals, especially pigs and poultry, the use of soybean meal as a protein component is at the center of criticism. In aquaculture, the main concern is the increasing demand for fishmeal and fish oil production and the associated environmental effects [1].
Insect meal, produced from the larval stages of various insect species, could contribute to improve the sustainability in animal production [2, 3]. In nature, insect larvae often feed on decaying organic material, and this provides the potential to use residual flows from food and feed production as substrate for the insect larvae. By using these substrates, the nutrients they contain can be transformed by the insect larvae into valuable feed (upcycling) [2, 4]. Globally, around one third of all food is thrown away (food waste) or lost during production (food loss) [5]. ...
Abstract
Numerous studies have already demonstrated the suitability of protein meal from black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as a substitute for fish or soybean meal in feed for multiple livestock species, including various fish species as well as poultry and pigs. However, this has not yet been extensively researched with regard to the Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei). The aim of these studies was therefore to test under practical conditions the suitability of black soldier fly protein meal as a protein component for P. vannamei. In four consecutive runs, an experimental feed containing 10% soldier fly meal and a control feed were tested under practical conditions in a recirculation system. In order to compare the production performance of both feeds, growth, feed conversion and mortality were compared. Performance was generally high, yet compared to the control group, insect meal tended to have positive effects on important parameters, or even had significant positive effects.
This work shows that black soldier fly larvae meal can be used at the tested proportion of 10% under practical conditions in recirculation systems without compromising production performance.
