Nutrition composition of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) prepupae reared on different organic substrates

The rising population and enhanced living standards in developing nations have led to an increased demand for easily accessible animal derived proteins. Growing costs of animal feed, exacerbated by diminishing resources, intensify the competition between human food, fuel and animal feed. In order to address this problem, an experimental research was carried out in CRD design with four replications at the Division of Entomology, Dr. Sharadchandra Pawar College of Agriculture, Baramati during year 2023-24 with the purpose of assessing how various organic substrates affected the biochemical composition of black soldier fly reared on this substrate. The treatment included T1-Poultry manure(excreta), T2-Kitchen waste, T3- fish waste, T4-Poultry feed, T5-Fruit waste and T6-Combine waste. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the results showed that the fish waste also had high amounts of protein (39.20%) and fat (39.32%), but its utility as a feed item was limited due to its increased ash (13.84%) and moisture content (64.58%). In contrast, the kitchen waste was nutritionally better, with good levels of crude protein (36.14%) and fat (36.05%) improving larval performance. The best organic substrates for enhancing the development of larvae and pupae were found to be kitchen waste and chicken feed.