Cultivation of black soldier fly larvae on almond byproducts: impacts of aeration and moisture on larvae growth and composition.

BACKGROUND: The increasing production of almonds worldwide has resulted in the significant generation of byproduct streams that require end uses. One potential use for byproducts is for cultivation of additional food sources including insects. Studies were performed to determine if black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens L.) could be cultivated on almond byproducts (hulls and shells) and to examine the effect of aeration and moisture on larvae growth and hull composition. RESULTS: Increasing aeration from 0.04 to 0.36 mL min-1 g dry weight-1 tripled the harvest weight of larvae and increased larvae yield by a factor of five. Larvae calcium content increased by 18% with an increase in aeration from 0.04 to 0.95 mL min-1 g dry weight-1 . Moisture content also affected harvest dry weight and yield; increasing moisture content from 480 g kg-1 (wet basis) to 680 g kg-1 increased harvest weight by 56% and yield by a factor of 2. Variables did not affect larvae methionine and cysteine content. Low moisture content and aeration rate yielded an environment that supported microbial consumption of hulls over larvae consumption and growth. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that almond hulls are a suitable feedstock for larvae production under controlled management of moisture content and aeration. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Characterisation of a new species of Trichodorus Cobb, 1913 (Triplonchida: Trichodoridae) from Iran based on morphological and molecular data.

Trichodorus zanjanensis n. sp., collected from the rhizosphere of wild almond tree (Amygdalus scoparia Spach) in Zanjan Province, Iran, is described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular data. The new species is characterised by its body length (772-819 µm in males; 704-953 µm in females), and in having medium-sized onchiostyle (60-64 µm in males; 59-65 µm in females) and a short dorsal overlap of the intestine. Males of the new species have two ventromedian cervical papillae posterior to onchiostyle region, ventrally curved spicules, smooth, long and wide manubrium, gradually continuing in a narrower anterior part of the blade provided with bristles and marked from the wider and transversely striated main part of the blade, tapered towards distal end, three ventromedian precloacal supplements, the posterior one (SP1) situated at the level of anterior blade and gubernaculum situated at 24-25 µm from the cloaca. Females have one pair of sublateral body pores in the vulva region, medium rounded triangular to oval sclerotised vaginal pieces in lateral view, and pear-shaped vagina. The new species resembles T. persicus De Waele & Sturhan, 1987, T. minzi De Waele & Cohn, 1992 and T. taylori De Waele, Mancini, Roca & Lamberti, 1982. The results of morphological and morphometric comparisons and molecular data based on sequences of the partial 18S and D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rRNA genes, clearly separated T. zanjanensis n. sp. from these known species and supported the description of T. zanjanensis n. sp. as a new species.