Growth efficiency, intestinal biology, and nutrient utilization and requirements of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae compared to monogastric livestock species: a review

Table 2 Mean fattening period, relative and specific growth rates, feed conversion ratio, crude protein and gross energy conversion ratio (fresh matter) of black soldier fly larvae vs. meat producing monogastric livestock¹

Category	Fattening period, d	RGR², %	SGR³, % per d	FCR⁴	PCR⁵, g CP/100 g BW gain	GECR⁶, MJ GE/100 g BW gain
Black soldier fly larvae	21	634,428	41.3	7.9	24.6	5.1
Chicken (broiler)	39	5802	10.5	1.7	30.9	2.6
Pig (pork)	158	7061	2.7	3.1	44.6	4.5
Fish (Atlantic salmon)	587	1,702,045	1.7	1.2	49.3	2.7

¹RGR, relative growth rate; SGR, specific growth rate; FCR, feed conversion ratio; PCR, protein conversion ratio (g of crude protein needed to gain 100 g of body weight); GECR, gross energy conversion ratio (MJ of gross energy (GE) needed to gain 100 g of body weight). Equations to calculate RGR and SGR are based on [56, 57]. Values of initial and market body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, as well as protein and gross energy intake and further details of calculations and calculations for conversion of gross energy from species-specific metabolizable energy are presented in Additional file 1: Supplementary Materials 1. All raw data and calculations based on literature data are available in an Excel file stored in a repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5886206)
²RGR = ((market body weight (g) – initial body weight (g))/ initial body weight (g)) × 100
³SGR = ((ln (market body weight in g) – ln (initial body weight in g))/ fattening period (d)) × 100
⁴FCR = Feed intake (g) / body weight gain (g); feed intake is based on fresh matter
⁵PCR = Crude protein intake (g) / body weight gain (g) × 100; crude protein is N × 6.25
⁶GECR = Gross energy intake (MJ GE) / body weight gain (g) × 100

ISSN: 2049-1891