Investigation of the feasibility of supplying protein source for animal and poultry feed requirement through black soldier fly farming

Feed shortage is one of the major problems in animal and poultry production in many countries, including Iran. One of the ways to provide the protein requirements of local livestock is cultivation of insect larvae, such as the black soldier fly. For this purpose, a research center was established at the Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, where a complete black soldier fly production cycle was developed. In an experiment, different substrates were inoculated with the produced fly eggs. The larvae were collected after fifteen days, dried, and their chemical composition was determined. The crude protein and fat content of the larvae ranged between ۴۴–۵۶% and ۱۰–۳۲%, respectively. The chemical composition of the larvae was significantly influenced by the type of used substrate. From these findings, it can be concluded that nutritional enrichment of larvae, is possible, but further experiments are required