Document Type
Poster Session
Department
Environmental Science and Policy
Faculty Mentor
Karen Wilson, PhD
Abstract
We conducted this experiment to study the levels of heavy metal accumulation in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae, as they are becoming an increasingly popular source of food for livestock. We raised the larvae in three trials of three different food sources: brewer’s waste, fish waste, and a 50/50 mixture of the two, and reared them until pupation stage. We then froze, dried, and ground the pupae to prepare them for analysis by the XRF machine to determine heavy metal concentrations. All treatments had significantly higher concentrations of zinc cadmium and lead, but the fish waste replicates had a significantly higher concentration of zinc when compared to the brewer’s waste and mixed waste treatments. All three fish waste replicates took significantly longer to pupate, with fewer achieving a fully pupated state. We conclude that fish waste is not a good food source for Black Soldier Fly Larvae growth. Further testing will need to be conducted to determine if growth deficiencies were caused by zinc, or some other property of fish waste. This information could help farmers choose the best food source for efficiently raising the larvae for their livestock.
Open Access?
1
Rearing Black Soldier Fly Larvae on Different Food Sources to Study Heavy Metal Accumulation
We conducted this experiment to study the levels of heavy metal accumulation in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae, as they are becoming an increasingly popular source of food for livestock. We raised the larvae in three trials of three different food sources: brewer’s waste, fish waste, and a 50/50 mixture of the two, and reared them until pupation stage. We then froze, dried, and ground the pupae to prepare them for analysis by the XRF machine to determine heavy metal concentrations. All treatments had significantly higher concentrations of zinc cadmium and lead, but the fish waste replicates had a significantly higher concentration of zinc when compared to the brewer’s waste and mixed waste treatments. All three fish waste replicates took significantly longer to pupate, with fewer achieving a fully pupated state. We conclude that fish waste is not a good food source for Black Soldier Fly Larvae growth. Further testing will need to be conducted to determine if growth deficiencies were caused by zinc, or some other property of fish waste. This information could help farmers choose the best food source for efficiently raising the larvae for their livestock.
