Hemetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), also known as black soldier fly, is native to the American continent but is today naturally present in many warmer regions of the world between latitude 40° south and 45° north. Females deposit 300 – 1.000 eggs on dry surfaces with humid environmental conditions close to decaying organic matter both of plant and animal origin. The larval stage lasts between 18 days to 5-6 weeks (depending also on the food availability and environmental conditions) feeding on the decaying organic matter that can be found in their proximity. Larvae are a good source of oil and proteins, which is why they have been gown and exploited for the production of animal feed. At the same time, larvae of H. illucens are able to reduce the volume of the organic matter they feed on up to the 80% and degrade its nitrogen and phosphorous content, therefore, with the right management techniques and technology H. illucens has a considerable potential for the degradation of the Organic Fraction of Municipal Solid Waste (OFMSW).
The aim of this research project is to better understand the ecology of H. illucens, in particular I intend to characterise the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that attract gravid females to their oviposition sites. I will perform electroantennography (EAG and GC-EAD) experiments combined with behavioural assays of a set of potential attractants. In this way females would be forced to lay the eggs only on the desired places, making the whole rearing process easier to control.