First Report of Hermetia Illucens (Linnaeus, 1758), Black Soldier Fly (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from Iran

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4293117/v1

Download PDF

Research Article

First Report of Hermetia Illucens (Linnaeus, 1758), Black Soldier Fly (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from Iran

https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4293117/v1

This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License

Version 1

posted

You are reading this latest preprint version

Background

Methods

In northwest Iran, specimens were collected from 36°46'36.9"n 48°27'21.1"e in Zanjan Province, where rice, corn, oilseeds, fruits, and potatoes are cultivated. The specimens were collected from fruit waste decomposing in the field as eggs and larvae and transported to the Shiraz University of medical sciences insectarium. They were reared in the insectarium, and the collected specimens' generation was established in the insectarium. All eggs, larva, pupa, and adult stages were analyzed, and photographs were captured by a sc100 model camera mount under microscope. The specimen was identified using valid identification keys.

Results

Totally, 362 flies were collected including Abricta curvicosta, Alobates pennsylvania, Bllatela americana, Carabus coriaceus, Chorthippus albomarginatus, Crocothemis erythaea, Hermetia illucens Lasius flavus, Omocestus viridulus, Orius insidiosus, Ospherantera coerulescens, and Topinoma sessile.

Conclusions

This is the first detection of Hermetia illucens in Iran.

First Report

Hermetia Illucens

Black Soldier Fly

Diptera

Stratiomyidae

The black soldier fly or Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) (Diptera: stratiomyidae) is one of the best-known flies all around the world for its nutritional value. This species is originally a new world species and was described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl von Linne, from South America, but transportation of food and fruits has caused this species to establish itself worldwide (Üstüner et al., 2003). It is an adaptable saprophagous species with larvae scavenging in various decayed organic matter of fruits, vegetables, and accumulated remains of vegetation, compost, manure, and carrion (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2017). Black soldier fly larvae have the potential to turn organic waste into abundant fertilizers, besides being an excellent source of oil and protein for animal feed (Diclaro II & Kaufman, 2009). The nutritional values of Hermetia illucens make it the first choice for poultry, aquaculture, and livestock compound diets. Its simple mass-rearing cycle and added value to poultry manure, swine manure, as well as recycling the vegetable and fruit waste, turning bio-waste into a high-quality nutrient source for animal feed are other suitable benefits of this species, making it an important decomposer (Barragan-Fonseca et al., 2017; Bruno, 2018; Joly & Nikiema, 2019; Maquart, 2019).

Eggs

As with most other flies, eggs are milky white, laid by the female fly, and piled in groups resembling white rice grains in clusters (Barros et al., 2019; Sarwar, 2020). They lay their eggs in moist, decaying organic material such as fruits and manure (Fig. 1) (Amrul et al., 2022; da Silva & Hesselberg, 2020; Dzepe et al., 2020).

Larvae

Larvae are large saprophagous maggots with six larval instars and reach 25-30 mm in length and 6-8 mm in width in the last stages (Fig. 2). They are apodal, hemichephalic and holopneustic. The head capsule is a telescopic structure which is strongly sclerotized. The body has 12 segments and is densely covered with hairs and cilia, which often grow longer and thicker caudally; almost every segment has one pair of spiracles laterally (Barros et al., 2019; Oliveira et al., 2016).

Adults

Adults of Hermetia illucens are black at all body parts except the first abdominal segment, which is translucent, and the feet-like tarsi, which are white. The adults resemble wasps; the first segment of the abdomen is translucent and makes the fly mimic the wasp's waist. Eyes are widely separated in all sexes; the antenna has 8 segments with a last elongated flagellum twice as long as the head. Unlike other flies, there is no sexual dimorphism, but the genitalia are different, and females are larger than males. Mouthparts are reduced in Hermetia illucens, so they do not feed except for water. The main purpose after emergence is to mate and lay eggs and the Hermetia illucens adults cannot feed, and they lay their eggs just at near the decomposing material so they cannot be a medically important fly and transmit microorganisms to a human being (Fig. 3)(Bruno et al., 2019; Jeong et al., 2018; Oliveira et al., 2016).

World Distribution

There are several reports of h. illucens all around the world. It is reportedly native to the neotropics and has been reported from North America, Canada, and the United States to Central America and almost all parts of South America. It is believed that h. illucens might have been first introduced to Europe approximately 500 years ago, but the first record is from Southern Europe (Malta) in 1926 (Lindner 1936); nevertheless, now it has been reported from all around Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas, and Oceania.

Nearctic: USA (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia).

Neotropical: Argentina, Belize, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico (Chiapas, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán), Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Venezuela and Uruguay.

Palearctic: Albania, Canary Islands, Croatia, France, Italy, Japan, Malta, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.

Afro tropical: La Réunion Island, Liberia, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Ethiopia, Senegal Cameroun, Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zaire and Zambia.

Oriental: India, Indonesia (Java, Sulawesi), Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Australian: Australia (Queensland, Western Australia), Belau, Bonin Islands, French Polynesia (Austral Islands, Society Islands), Guam, Hawaiian Islands, Indonesia (Irian Jaya), Kiribati (Gilbert Islands), Marshall Islands, Micronesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Northern Marianas, Papua New Guinea (Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea), Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Western Samoa (DEMETRIOU et al., 2022; Gladun, 2019; MAQUART et al., 2020; Üstüner et al., 2003; Woodley & Thompson, 2001).

The aim of the current study was to collect the eggs and larval stages of flies from fruit waste decomposing in the field of Zanjan provinces, northwest Iran.

Specimens were collected from 36°46'36.9"n 48°27'21.1"e in the Zanjan Province, where agriculture is the main profession in this province, with rice, corn, oilseeds, fruits, and potatoes being cultivated. The specimens were collected from fruit waste decomposing in the field as egg and larvae and transported to the Shiraz University of medical sciences insectarium. The fly's larvae were reared in the insectarium, and the collected specimens' generation was established in the insectarium. All egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages were analyzed, and photographs were captured by a sc100 model camera mount on the Olympus sz61 stereo microscope. The specimen was identified using valid identification keys (Fig. 4).

Table 1

Various flies collected from in Zanjan Province, Iran.
Genus & Species	No. Of Collected	Total (%)
Carabus coriaceus	48	13.26
Abricta curvicosta	42	11.60
Topinoma sessile	41	11.33
Hermetia illucens	38	10.50
Chorthippus albomarginatus	37	10.22
Lasius flavus	33	9.12
Omocestus viridulus	33	9.11
Orius insidiosus	26	7.19
Alobates pennsylvania	22	6.08
Ospherantera coerulescens	18	4.97
Bllatela americana	12	3.31
Crocothemis erythaea	12	3.31
Total (%)	362	100

The black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) has been distributed and expanded in different geographical regions of the world. It is still one of the rare insects which needs special weather for reproduction, growth, and maturity. The black soldier fly grows in humid or tropical forest areas, with temperature ranges of 24 to 30 degrees and humidity of 60 to 90%; thus, it needs special conditions for growth. However, in recent years, it has provided a lot of flexibility both in terms of habitat and temperature (INPN. https://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/217341. Last access: 10/05/2021.; MAQUART et al., 2020). In our study, the first reported case of black soldier fly was investigated in Zanjan Province, which was growing in fruits. According to the weather of this province, this insect can grow with the percentage of humidity between 40 and 75 and the temperature between 17 and 40 degrees Celsius in the hot seasons of the year. However, how the insect entered this area needs to be investigated. Also, the multiplication and growth of the insect were observed in the bed of rotten fruits. According to the study conducted in Senegal, which investigated the first case of the black soldier fly, the multiplication of the insect occurred in the rainy season with an average temperature of 28 to 30 degrees Celsius and humidity of 77 to 82%. In this study, the reproduction and growth of flies in the beds of fish waste, fruit and vegetable waste, bird droppings and cracked corn were investigated, with the findings indicating that the larvae of the fly spread in the plant beds in advanced decay. This shows that the fly The female prefers to lay eggs in corn beds and rotten fruit skins rather than animal beds (Niass et al., 2021). Nevertheless, studies have shown that this insect can also grow and reproduce on animal substrates, such as rotting corpses (Martínez-Sánchez et al., 2011). In the study of Tsagkarakis and colleagues, who investigated the first case of the black soldier fly in Greece, the first fly was trapped on the slopes of the stream near the goat breeding farm, and then other samples were observed in urban areas. Based on the findings, the larvae fed on various decaying organic materials, such as rotten fruits and vegetables, plus animal manure. Larvae could decompose organic materials because of their ability to chew, but adult flies could not feed because of ineffective mouthparts and had weak flight power. Accordingly, they were only responsible for reproduction and publication. It should be mentioned that sunlight was necessary for successful mating (Tsagkarakis et al., 2015). According to the study by Maquart et al. (2020), the black soldier fly in France has been confirmed in the southeastern and western parts, since 1986. But recently, this insect has been seen in the northern parts including Vendée, Loire-Atlantique, and Ille-et-Vilaine, suggesting that it can spread to more northern areas as well (1). According to the studies, the black soldier fly has been observed in America (Marshall et al., 2015), Europe (Mason, 2013; Tsagkarakis et al., 2015), Asia (Caruso et al., 2014; Rohácek & Hora, 2013), Australia (Callan, 1974; Oliveira et al., 2015), and Africa (Marshall et al., 2015; Oliveira et al., 2016).

Globally, the human need for animal products has increased progressively. The instability of animal feed and its expensiveness have caused the animal feed industry activists to seek alternative sources to provide animal feed protein. Accordingly, one solution is breeding and using insects as a source of protein in animal feed. The black soldier fly has been considered a suitable candidate because of its non-causing disease, short life cycle, protein source, and ability to decompose organic matter in the agricultural, plant, and animal waste. Since this insect needs special conditions for growth, its natural existence among local animals in different regions of the world provides the basis for its breeding. As such, in this study, we reported the first case of the black soldier fly in Zanjan Province in the northwestern region of Iran, so that the policymakers, aware of the natural presence of this insect, can provide the facilities for the industrialization of this insect and the name of animal feed.

This is the first detection of Hermetia illucens in Iran. Because of the high potential of its larvae to recover organic materials in agricultural, industrial, and household wastes, as well as the possibility of using these larvae as protein in animal feed, the black soldier fly (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) has attracted the attention of industrial breeding.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Iran).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Availability of data and materials

All data obtained from the study are included in the text of the article.

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Research Vice-chancellor of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences.

Author's Statement

E.A was in charge of all parts of the study such as sampling, diagnosis, statistical analysis, photography and writing the article.

Amrul, N. F., Kabir Ahmad, I., Ahmad Basri, N. E., Suja, F., Abdul Jalil, N. A., & Azman, N. A. (2022). A Review of Organic Waste Treatment Using Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens). Sustainability, 14(8), 4565.
Barragan-Fonseca, K. B., Dicke, M., & van Loon, J. J. (2017). Nutritional value of the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) and its suitability as animal feed–a review. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, 3(2), 105-120.
Barros, L. M., Gutjahr, A. L. N., Ferreira‐Keppler, R. L., & Martins, R. T. (2019). Morphological description of the immature stages of Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758)(Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Microscopy Research and Technique, 82(3), 178-189.
Bruno, D. (2018). Insects’ superpower: waste bioconversion by Hermetia illucens larvae Università degli Studi dell'Insubria].
Bruno, D., Bonelli, M., Cadamuro, A. G., Reguzzoni, M., Grimaldi, A., Casartelli, M., & Tettamanti, G. (2019). The digestive system of the adult Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): morphological features and functional properties. Cell and tissue research, 378(2), 221-238.
Callan, E. (1974). Hermetia illucens (L.)(Diptera, Stratiomyidae), a cosmopolitan American species long established in Australia and New Zealand. Entomol Mon Mag.
Caruso, D., Devic, E., Subamia, I. W., Talamond, P., & Baras, E. (2014). Technical handbook of domestication and production of diptera Black Soldier Fly (BSF) Hermetia illucens, Stratiomyidae. IRD editions, Bogor.
da Silva, G. D. P., & Hesselberg, T. (2020). A review of the use of black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), to compost organic waste in tropical regions. Neotropical entomology, 49(2), 151-162.
DEMETRIOU, J., KALAENTZIS, K., KAZILAS, C., KUNZ, G., MULLER, B., MOSTOVSKI, M. B., & KOUTSOUKOS, E. (2022). An “alien” species on the loose: new records and updated distribution of the black soldier fly Hermetia illucens in the Western Palearctic. Bulletin of Insectology, 75(1), 125-130.
Diclaro II, J. W., & Kaufman, P. E. (2009). Black soldier fly hermetia illucens linnaeus (insecta: Diptera: Stratiomyidae). EDIS, 2009(7).
Dzepe, D., Nana, P., Mube, K., Fotso, K., Tchuinkam, T., & Djouaka, R. (2020). Role of pupation substrate on post-feeding development of black soldier fly larvae, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 8(2), 760-764.
Gladun, V. V. (2019). The first record of Hermetia illucens (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from Russia. Nature Conservation Research. Заповедная наука, 4(4), 111-113.
INPN. https://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/217341. Last access: 10/05/2021.
Jeong, G., Kang, H., Choi, H., Lee, Y., & Jin, S. D. (2018). External morphology and habitat of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) in Korea. Korean Journal of Environmental Biology, 36(4), 584-590.
Joly, G., & Nikiema, J. (2019). Global experiences on waste processing with black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens): from technology to business (Vol. 16). Iwmi.
Maquart, P.-O. (2019). From waste to feed: the Black Soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) as a novel feed source for monosex tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).
MAQUART, P.-O., Richard, D., & Willems, J. (2020). First record of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, in the Western regions of France (Vendée, Loire-Atlantique, Ille-et-Vilaine) with notes on its worldwide repartition (Diptera, Stratiomyidae). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, 125(1), 13-18.
Marshall, S., Woodley, N., & Hauser, M. (2015). The historical spread of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (L.)(Diptera, Stratiomyidae, Hermetiinae), and its establishment in Canada. The Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 146.
Martínez-Sánchez, A., Magana, C., Salona, M., & Rojo, S. (2011). First record of Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) on human corpses in Iberian Peninsula. Forensic Science International, 206(1-3), e76-e78.
Mason, F. (2013). Updated Italian checklist of soldier flies (Diptera, Stratiomyidae). ZooKeys(336), 61.
Niass, C. T., Thiaw, C., Diome, T., & Sembène, M. (2021). First record of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens L, 1758 (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) in central and western Senegal.
Oliveira, F., Doelle, K., List, R., & O’Reilly, J. R. (2015). Assessment of Diptera: Stratiomyidae, genus Hermetia illucens (L., 1758) using electron microscopy. J. Entomol. Zool. Stud, 3(5), 147-152.
Oliveira, F. R., Doelle, K., & Smith, R. (2016). External morphology of Hermetia illucens Stratiomyidae: Diptera (L. 1758) based on electron microscopy. Annual Research & Review in Biology, 1-10.
Rohácek, J., & Hora, M. (2013). A northernmost European record of the alien black soldier fly Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758)(Diptera: Stratiomyidae)/Nejsevernejsi evropsky vyskyt nepuvodni branenky Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758)(Diptera: Stratiomyidae). Acta Musei Silesiae. Scientiae Naturales, 62(2), 101.
Sarwar, M. (2020). Typical flies: Natural history, lifestyle and diversity of Diptera. In Life Cycle and Development of Diptera. IntechOpen.
Tsagkarakis, A. E., Arapostathi, E., & Strouvalis, G. (2015). First record of the black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, in Greece. Entomologia Hellenica, 24(2), 27-30.
Üstüner, T., Hasbenlí, A., & Rozkošný, R. (2003). The first record of Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758)(Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from the near east. Studia dipterologica(1).
Woodley, N. E., & Thompson, F. C. (2001). A world catalog of the Stratiomyidae (Insecta: Diptera) (Vol. 11). North American Dipterists' Society.

No competing interests reported.

Download PDF

Version 1

posted

You are reading this latest preprint version

First Report of Hermetia Illucens (Linnaeus, 1758), Black Soldier Fly (Diptera, Stratiomyidae) from Iran

Status:

Version 1

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Figures

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion

Declarations

References

Additional Declarations

Status:

Version 1