Data from: Commercial Bacillus strains improve the performance of black soldier fly larvae

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Authors: Thaddeus Zaabwe, Elias Rabson Chirwa, Kumbukani Mzengereza, Jeremiah Kang’ombe, Abigail Ndhlovu, R. Nyirenda, Chimango Mtekateka
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Abstract

The inability of black soldier fly larvae to efficiently extract and assimilate nutrients from diverse organic substrates leads to the production of small-sized and poor-quality larvae. Suboptimal nutrient digestion reduces overall biomass yield, survival, and overall larval quality. Incorporating exogenous probiotics into black soldier fly larvae feeding systems is important in improving overall black soldier fly production. The study focused on the use of an exogenous Bacillus probiotic strain mixture to improve larval survival, growth, and nutrient accumulation. A total of 1500 4-day-old black soldier larvae were manually counted in triplicate for each treatment and subjected to exogenous Bacillus probiotic strain mixture inoculation levels using a poultry feed. Four inoculation levels were used: P0 [0 CFU/kg] as a control, P1 [4×10^10^ CFU/kg] as treatment 1, P2[8×10^10^ CFU/kg] as treatment 2, and P3[12×10^10^ CFU/kg] as treatment 3. The experiment was carried out in the laboratory under a completely randomised design. Larvae were reared under ambient conditions, with an average temperature of 28±1.09°C and relative humidity of 70±8.1%, using a poultry feed with a pH of 8.2±1.0. Significant differences among inoculation levels for length, weight, survival, and proximate composition were recorded (p

Fields of Study & Subjects

Insect Utilization and Effects Animal Nutrition and Physiology Probiotics and Fermented Foods

Publication details

Journal / source
DRYAD
Publication date
20 February 2026
Language
EN
Document type
Dataset