Welfare considerations for farming black soldier flies, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae): A model for the insects as food and feed industry

Over two hundred billion black soldier flies (BSF, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae)) are reared annually across the globe, with the industry projected to grow substantially in the coming decade. Black soldier flies are being actively explored across the globe for use as livestock feed; fishmeal replacements; biodiesel; human, animal, and food waste management; and even sustainable human protein. Despite the huge number of individual insects reared and interest in BSF welfare by numerous producers and academics, there is no paper that considers the species-specific welfare of BSF in farmed conditions. In this presentation, we discuss a few of the most pressing welfare concerns we identified for farmed BSF following an extensive, species-specific literature review of BSF biology and rearing conditions. We provide recommendations for altering the conditions that give rise to these concerns and suggestions for future research directions that would lend valuable insights to BSF welfare. We end by briefly discussing how entomologists that work with, or in, the insects as food and feed industry might consider welfare when using insects as livestock.