Wageningen Academic Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 2017; 3(2): 105-120 Publishers Nutritional value of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) and its suitability as animal feed – a review K.B. Barragan-Fonseca1,2*, M. Dicke1 and J.J.A. van Loon1 1Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; 2Departamento de Producción Animal, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 111321 Bogotá, Colombia;
[email protected] Received: 17 November 2016 / Accepted: 10 March 2017 © 2017 Wageningen Academic Publishers REVIEW ARTICLE Abstract The black soldier fly (BSF; Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) has been studied for its capability to convert organic waste to high quality protein, control certain harmful bacteria and insect pests, provide potential chemical precursors to produce biodiesel and for its use as feed for a variety of animals. Nutritional value of BSF larvae is discussed, as well as the effect of biotic and abiotic factors on both larval body composition and performance. Although BSF larvae contain high protein levels (from 37 to 63% dry matter; DM), and other macro- and micronutrients important for animal feed, the available studies on including BSF larvae in feed rations for poultry, pigs and fish suggest that it could only partially replace traditional feedstuff, because high or complete replacement resulted in reduced performance. This is due to factors such as high fat content (from 7 to 39% DM), ash (from 9 to 28% DM), and consequences of processing. Therefore, further studies are needed on nutrient composition, digestibility and availability for target species and on improved methods to process larvae, among other aspects.