Microbes involved in Black Soldier Fly oviposition

The black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) has great biotechnological potential that is increasingly the focus of scientific attention. This insect can help to meet two challenges of our century the globally increasing amounts of organic waste that have to be managed in an economically and ecologically sustainable way, and the growing population with simultaneously rising living standards in economically poorer countries, which will make a future supply of food and feed more difficult. Larvae of the black soldier fly can utilise almost all organic waste from plant residues to slaughterhouse waste and even serve as feed for farm animals such as poultry, pigs, and fish. They have the highest levels of fat and protein known from insects and are rich in minerals. While the larvae are very robust, the flies are fragile in their adult stage. Critical, therefore, is the egg -laying phase, which is the bottleneck of the whole process. The project aims to identify chemicals produced by microorganisms that positively influence the egg- laying behaviour of the black soldier fly and to explore their applicability in breeding the fly. We combine egg-laying experiments with chemical, microbiological, genetic, and genomic analyses. Specifically, we aim to select the most attractive substrate for oviposition from promising candidates; identify the chemical substances released by this substrate that promote oviposition; and characterise the microorganisms that produce these substances; these microorganisms will then be used to produce a highly attractive substrate for oviposition. This project is the first to combine behavioural biology, ecology, chemistry, and microbiology to study the oviposition of the black soldier fly. If successful, the project will be remarkable from both an applied and a basic science point of view from an applied point of view, because the deciphering of egg-laying-regulating substances and microorganisms can lead to the development of new, also industrially relevant breeding methods, and from a basic science point of view, because we are working on a multidisciplinary case study using the latest technologies to gain insights into the chemical communication of insects and microorganisms and their behavioural consequences.