Oviposition Response of Black Soldier Fly Hermetia illucens to Different Attractants and Optimization of Egg Collector Number

ABSTRACT The species Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), known as the black soldier fly, is a decomposer of organic matter, capable of reducing industrial and urban waste. The compost generated can be used as an organic fertilizer in agriculture, and the larvae can also be incorporated into the feed of non‐ruminant animals due to their high protein content. However, due to its saprophagous habit, oviposition requires environments with odors similar to those found in its natural habitat, which can pose a significant challenge in the mass rearing of this species. Therefore, this study aimed to test different attractants and determine the ideal number of egg collectors in a standard rearing cage. The following attractants were tested: (a) frass and water; (b) dead adult insects and water; (c) chicken feed, frass, dead adults, and water (MIX); (d) chicken feed and water; (e) fruits, legumes, and vegetables (FLV); and (f) control (no attractant). The efficiency of the treatments was measured based on the weight (g) of the eggs collected. The data were subjected to Shapiro–Wilk tests (normality) and Levene's tests (homogeneity of variances), followed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey's test ( α = 0.05). The MIX attractant showed the best results regarding egg weight. Based on this, a second experiment was conducted using only the MIX attractant to evaluate different numbers of collectors per cage. The results indicated that the weight of eggs did not vary significantly between using one and five collectors, allowing the recommendation of using just one collector to optimize management in mass rearing systems.