Optimisation of Hermetia illucens reproduction according to appropriate laying sources

Insects are an underused protein source. They could be integrated into human and livestock diets to enrich protein deficient diets. Hermetia illucens, also known as the black soldier fly (BSF), stands out as a potential candidate for food and feed. Indeed, its larvae can be easily reared on a wide range of organic matters. A steady input of larvae is required for the mass rearing. For this reason, improvement of the rearing condition should be performed. As the laying sources can be wide, we decided to highlight the most efficient sources by means of behavioural trial and volatolomic essay. We therefore hypothesize that BSF chose their laying sources thanks to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as most of other flies