Effect of antiparasitic veterinary drug on survival and biomass rate of Hermetia illucens larvae

This article presents the results of the effect of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin on biomass growth and survival of Black Soldier Fly larvae. The obtained results indicate that Black Soldier Fly larvae are not able to metabolise ivermectin. However, low concentrations of ivermectin in the substrate have no effect on larval development and survival and can be acceptable for rearing larvae as feed.

Introduction. Manure treatment by Black Soldier Fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) is a perspective technology of waste utilization with protein production, which can be used for the feed additives industry. However, livestock products from agricultural animals can be contaminated by various antimicrobial and antiparasitic drugs. One of these drugs is ivermectin (IVM), which belongs to macrocyclic lactones and can be found in high concentrations in manure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of several concentrations of the antiparasitic drug IVM on biomass growth, Survival Rate (SR) and Bioconversion Efficiency Rate (BER) of the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) larvae.

Object. The object of the study was BSF larvae.

Materials and methods. The experiment was conducted at the All-Russian Research Institute of Food Additives. The larvae were raised on a substrate composed of wheat bran with an aqueous solution of IVM in the ratio of 1:2. C0-substrate with distilled water instead of the drug solution was used as a control sample. The studied concentrations of IVM: C1–0.1 mg/kg; C2–0.5 mg/kg C3–2.5 mg/kg; C4–10 mg/kg. The larvae were fed on experimental substrates with IVM for ten days.

Results and conclusions. The concentration of IVM >2.5 mg/kg substrate was found to significantly reduce the development of BSF larvae, with SR below 60%. In contrary, lower concentrations of IVM in the range of 0.1-0.5 mg/kg had a negligible effect on larval development, SR was 92%, IVM content in the larvae was 0.95±0.150 µg/kg and 4.2±0.500 µg/kg for C1 and C2, accordingly. We concluded that BSF larvae do not accumulate and do not metabolize this veterinary drug, and insect biomass obtained on substrates with low concentrations of ivermectin can be used for further production of feed products.

1. Lozovaya O., Martynushkin A., Fedoskina I., Vanyushina O., Polyakov M., Anikin N. Management justification and applications of the personal approach at the enterprise of the AIC. In E3S Web of Conferences. 2021. Vol. 284. P. 07010.

2. Holly M. A., Larson R. A., Powell J. M., Ruark M. D., Aguirre-Villegas H. Greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from digested and separated dairy manure during storage and after land application. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment. 2017. V. 239. Pp. 410–419.

3. Mutafela R. N. High value organic waste treatment via black soldier fly bioconversion: onsite pilot study. Master of Science Thesis. Stockholm, 2015.

4. Mertenat A., Diener S., Zurbrügg C. Black Soldier Fly biowaste treatment–Assessment of global warming potential. Waste management. 2019. V. 84. Pp. 173–181.

5. Zheng L., Hou Y., Li W., et al. Biodiesel production from rice straw and restaurant waste employing black soldier fly assisted by microbes. Energy. 2012. V. 47(1). Pp. 225–229.

6. Barragan-Fonseca K. B., Dicke M., van Loon J. J. 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. 2017. V. 3 (2). Pp. 105-120.

7. Moula N., Scippo M. L., Douny C., Degand G., Dawans E., Cabaraux J. F., Detilleux J. Performances of local poultry breed fed black soldier fly larvae reared on horse manure. Animal Nutrition. 2018. V. 4 (1). Pp. 73–78.

8. Mohan K., Rajan D. K., Muralisankar T., Ganesan A. R., Sathishkumar P., Revathi N. Use of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.) larvae meal in aquafeeds for a sustainable aquaculture industry: A review of past and future needs. Aquaculture. 2022. V. 553. P. 738095.

9. Schiavone A., De Marco M., Martínez S., Dabbou S., Renna M., Madrid, J., Gasco L. Nutritional value of a partially defatted and a highly defatted black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) meal for broiler chickens: apparent nutrient digestibility, apparent metabolizable energy and apparent ileal amino acid digestibility. Journal of animal science and biotechnology. 2017. No 8. Pp. 1–9.

10. Tomberlin J. K., Van Huis A. Black soldier fly from pest to ‘crown jewel’of the insects as feed industry: an historical perspective. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. 2020. No 6 (1). Pp. 1–4.

11. Heuel M., Sandrock C., Leiber F., Mathys A., Gold M., Zurbrügg C., Terranova M. Black soldier fly larvae meal and fat can completely replace soybean cake and oil in diets for laying hens. Poultry Science. 2021. V. 100 (4). P. 101034.

12. Meijer N., de Rijk T., van Loon J. J., Zoet L., Van der Fels-Klerx H. J. Effects of insecticides on mortality, growth, and bioaccumulation in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. PloS one. 2021. V. 16 (4). e0249362.

13. Omura S. Ivermectin: 25 years and still going strong. International journal of antimicrobial agents. 2008. No 31 (2). Pp. 91–98.

14. Floate K. D. Off-target effects of ivermectin on insects and on dung degradation in southern Alberta, Canada. Bulletin of Entomological Research. 1998. V. 88 (1). Pp. 25–35.

15. Herd R. P., Sams R. A., Ashcraft S. M. Persistence of ivermectin in plasma and faeces following treatment of cows with ivermectin sustained-release, pour-on or injectable formulations. International journal for parasitology. 1996. No 26 (10). Pp. 1087–1093.

16. Sands B., Noll M. Toxicity of ivermectin residues in aged farmyard manure to terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates. Insect Conservation and Diversity. 2022. V. 15 (1). Pp. 9–18.

17. Blanckenhorn W. U., Puniamoorthy N., Schäfer M. A., Scheffczyk A., Römbke J. Standardized laboratory tests with 21 species of temperate and tropical sepsid flies confirm their suitability as bioassays of pharmaceutical residues (ivermectin) in cattle dung. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2013. No 89. Pp. 21–28.

18. Van Koppenhagen N., Gourgoulianni N., Rohner P. T., Roy J., Wegmann A., Blanckenhorn W. U. Sublethal effects of the parasiticide ivermectin on male and female reproductive and behavioural traits in the yellow dung fly. Chemosphere. 2020. V. 242. 125240.

19. Hoek-van Den Hil E. F., Van De Schans M. G. M., Bor G., Van Der Fels-klerx H. J. Effects of veterinary drugs on rearing and safety of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. 2022. No 8 (10). Pp. 1097–1106.

20. Kawasaki K., Ohkawa M., Zhao J., Yano K. Effect of dietary meat content on weight gain, mortality, and pre-pupal rate in black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae. Insects. 2022. No 13 (3). P. 229.

21. Luperdi A. P., Flores-Calla S. S., Barriga X. J., Rivera V., Salazar I., Manrique P. L., Reátegui J. E. Bioprocessing of organic wastes from poultry and bovine slaughterhouses as food substrate for Hermetia illucens larval development. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management. 2023. No 9 (1). Pp. 31–42.

22. Nguyen T. T., Tomberlin J. K., Vanlaerhoven S. Ability of black soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae to recycle food waste. Environmental entomology. 2015. No 44 (2). Pp. 406–410.

23. Dzepe D., Nana P., Kuietche H. M., Kimpara J. M., Magatsing O., Tchuinkam T., Djouaka R. Feeding strategies for small-scale rearing black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as organic waste recycler. SN Applied Sciences. 2021. No 3. Pp. 1–9.

24. Bosch G., Oonincx D. G. A. B., Jordan H. R., et al. Standardisation of quantitative resource conversion studies with black soldier fly larvae. Journal of Insects as Food and Feed. 2020. No 6 (2). Pp. 95–109.

25. Gligorescu A., Toft S., Hauggaard Nielsen H., Axelsen J. A., Nielsen S. A. Development, growth and metabolic rate of Hermetia illucens larvae. Journal of Applied Entomology. 2019. No 143(8). Pp. 875–881.