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Small-Scale Fly Larvae Production for Animal Feed

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Edible Insects in Sustainable Food Systems

Abstract

Two fly species, the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, and the house fly, Musca domestica, are presently being promoted and used as feed for monogastric animals. Various production systems are being developed in different contexts and regions, from very small-scale used by smallholder farmers to industrial scale production factories. This chapter reviews the information available on production methods for the two fly species, with a focus on small-scale production systems. Larvae of both fly species can be produced either by exposing substrates to attract naturally occurring flies, or by breeding adults to obtain eggs that will be placed on the larval rearing substrates. The two fly species are compared with respect to performance, user-friendliness, safety and sustainability. The advantages and disadvantages associated with rearing these species in different situations and perspectives are highlighted. This chapter also discusses knowledge gaps and provides recommendations for production and suggestions for further research.

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Acknowledgements

This review was made in the framework of the project PROteINSECT of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration (grant agreement no. 312084) and the project IFWA – Insects as Feed in West Africa, funded by the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (R4D).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CABI, Delémont, Switzerland

    Marc Kenis & Saidou Nacambo

  2. Fish for Africa-Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Bawoubati Bouwassi & Gabriel Koko

  3. CABI, Accra, Ghana

    Hettie Boafo

  4. Entofood Sdn Bhd, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Emilie Devic

  5. Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Richou Han

  6. Institut d’Economie Rurale, Centre Régional de Recherche Agricole de Sotuba, Bamako, Mali

    N’Golopé Koné

  7. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Gabriela Maciel-Vergara

  8. Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin, Cotonou, République du Bénin

    Sètchémè Charles Bertrand Pomalegni

  9. KU Leuven, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape, Leuven, Belgium

    Martin Roffeis

  10. Fera Science Ltd, York, UK

    Maureen Wakefield & Elaine Fitches

  11. Huazhong Agricutural University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China

    Fen Zhu

  12. Department of Biosciences, University of Durham, Durham, UK

    Elaine Fitches

Authors
  1. Marc Kenis
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  2. Bawoubati Bouwassi
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  3. Hettie Boafo
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  4. Emilie Devic
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  5. Richou Han
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  6. Gabriel Koko
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  7. N’Golopé Koné
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  8. Gabriela Maciel-Vergara
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  9. Saidou Nacambo
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  10. Sètchémè Charles Bertrand Pomalegni
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  11. Martin Roffeis
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  12. Maureen Wakefield
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  13. Fen Zhu
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  14. Elaine Fitches
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc Kenis .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Afton Halloran

  2. Nordic Food Lab, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Roberto Flore

  3. FAO, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy

    Paul Vantomme

  4. Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Nanna Roos

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Kenis, M. et al. (2018). Small-Scale Fly Larvae Production for Animal Feed. In: Halloran, A., Flore, R., Vantomme, P., Roos, N. (eds) Edible Insects in Sustainable Food Systems . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74011-9_15

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