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ABSTRACT
Due to a fast-growing world population, demand for food, especially high-quality protein is increasing drastically. Insects as food and feed, in particular as a new and sustainable source of high-quality protein, are increasingly attracting the attention to science. The black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens), is a tropical and cosmopolitan species with great economic benefit and environmental potential impact for the processing of various organic waste and byproducts into insect-based products. This processing ability has led to multiple researches being carried out on the diet suitability and diet preferences of the black soldier fly. This experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of watermelon and orange diet on the survival rate, sex ratio, weight gain, proximate analysis and developmental period. The diets, watermelon, orange and a mixture of equal parts of watermelon and orange were used to feed Hermetia illucens larvae. The weight was recorded at the start of the experiment and at the fifteenth day and the experiment lasted for sixty days. The mean developmental period, survival rate and sex ratio varied non-significantly. The weight gained by larvae fed with the mixture is significantly higher than weight gained by larvae fed with watermelon. The proximate analysis showed that orange had a higher dry matter, lipid and carbohydrate content than watermelon. The results obtained revealed that the mixture of watermelon and orange diet is a suitable feed for rearing of Hermetia illucens larvae.
