Comparing the Toxicity of Some Formulate Synthetic and Organic Insecticides to Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens) Larvae

Abstract

Agricultural wastes had been considered as one of the major sources of environmental as most of the waste consist of organic wastes which produces a significant amount of greenhouse gases when decompose. Some studies showed the benefit of these wastes as a material for insect farming, such as larva of black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens), to produce a protein and lipid-rich biomass for various types of bioindustries. However, other studies showed that most of the organic agricultural wastes originated from local farms, contaminated with insecticides. This condition caused a major concern on the health of the larvae during farming as the information on the effect of insecticide on black soldier fly larvae is considered rare. In this study, we tested the toxicity of some common synthetic and organic insecticides, applied in the local farming system, to black soldier fly larvae. Two types of synthetic insecticides (active ingredient endosulfan and profenofos) and one type of organic insecticide (a microbial insecticide with active ingredient 5-endotoxin) were mixed with commercial chicken feed which used as feeding material for the 10 days-old larvae. A total number of 120 larvae were used in this study and the mortality rate was observed for 72 hours. The result of this study showed LC50 of endosulfan was recorded at 236.25 ppm, profenofos at 380.62 ppm, and 5-endotoxin at more than 7600 ppm. All of this value significantly higher than insecticide residual limit regulation and reports on the level of insecticide residual level of common local agricultural products. Based on this study, it can be concluded that common organic agricultural wastes are applicable to be used as feeding material of black soldier fly larvae directly although further studies are needed regarding the safety of the final product of insect farming.