Blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) promising candidates as animal feed ingredients
- 19 October 2021
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Brill in Journal of Insects as Food and Feed
- Vol. 7 (7), 1065-1076
- https://doi.org/10.3920/jiff2021.0020
Abstract
Insects are efficient converters of different types of low-quality organic matter into biomass rich in good quality protein. Flies are particularly well suited for the biodegradation of organic waste and larval stages can be used as animal feed. Currently, only Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) and Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) are accepted for feeding purposes by European authorities. However, there are several other species potentially interesting to be used in animal feed. This review compiles available information regarding species from Calliphoridae family, ranging from scattered records of its use as animal feed to nutritional profile descriptions. Comparisons are made with the most common ingredients used as animal feed, fish meal and soybean meal as well as with other two authorised species by the European regulation, H. illucens and M. domestica. Concerns about pathogen transmission are also discussed. Blow flies present a real opportunity to recycle organic side streams under a circular economy framework and can ultimately contribute to the reduction of nutrients shortage in animal feed. Other advantages include their high fertility, short life cycle, known rearing methodologies and good nutritional profile. Further, their potential as pathogen transmitters is equivalent to the domestic fly. For all these reasons blow flies are good candidates to be used as ingredients in animal feed.Keywords
This publication has 62 references indexed in Scilit:
- Carrion flies of forensic interest: a study of seasonal community composition and succession in Lisbon, PortugalMedical and Veterinary Entomology, 2012
- Biodegradation of Pig Manure by the Housefly, Musca domestica: A Viable Ecological Strategy for Pig Manure ManagementPLOS ONE, 2012
- Phenology and life history of the blowfly Calliphora vicina in stockfish production areasEntomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2011
- First record of Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius, 1794) (Diptera, Calliphoridae) from PortugalGraellsia, 2009
- Fish Offal Recycling by the Black Soldier Fly Produces a Foodstuff High in Omega‐3 Fatty AcidsJournal of the World Aquaculture Society, 2007
- Lifetime reproductive output of Calliphora vicina and Lucilia sericata in outdoor caged and field populations; flight vs. egg production?Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 2006
- Larval growth rates of the blowfly, Calliphora vicina, over a range of temperaturesMedical and Veterinary Entomology, 2006
- Selected Life-History Traits of Black Soldier Flies (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Reared on Three Artificial DietsAnnals of the Entomological Society of America, 2002
- The seasonal abundance of blowflies infesting drying fish in south‐west IndiaJournal of Applied Ecology, 2001
- Nutrient flows in an integrated pig, maggot and fish production systemAquaculture Research, 1995