Larvae of Hermetia illucens feed on different types of decomposing organic matter and their development depends on the quality and quantity of food ingested. In this study the effect of three artificial diets was analyzed, namely hen feed, meat meal and a mixture of these two diets. The effects of diet on ovarian development, size, mortality, duration of the larval and pupal stages and sex ratio were studied. Results indicate that the meat meal diet was the worst of the three diets in terms of percentage mortality and duration of the larval and pupal stages. We conclude that food ingested by the black soldier fly larvae determines both the physiological and morphological development of the adults.

The technology for biodegradation of pig manure by using houseflies in a pilot plant capable of processing 500–700 kg of pig manure per week is described. A single adult cage loaded with 25,000 pupae produced 177.7±32.0 ml of eggs in a 15-day egg-collection period. With an inoculation ratio of 0.4–1.0 ml eggs/kg of manure, the amount of eggs produced by a single cage can suffice for the biodegradation of 178–444 kg of manure. Larval development varied among four different types of pig manure (centrifuged slurry, fresh manure, manure with sawdust, manure without sawdust). Larval survival ranged from 46.9±2.1%, in manure without sawdust, to 76.8±11.9% in centrifuged slurry. Larval development took 6–11 days, depending on the manure type. Processing of 1 kg of wet manure produced 43.9–74.3 g of housefly pupae and the weight of the residue after biodegradation decreased to 0.18–0.65 kg, with marked differences among manure types. Recommendations for the operation of industrial-scale biodegradation facilities are presented and discussed.

Knowledge on the taxonomic diversity and distribution of blowflies from the Madeira Archipelago is updated. New and interesting findings are reported for poorly studied islands and islets of this archipelago, together with a brief analysis of the diversity of Macaronesian Calliphoridae s. l. Seven blowfly species were collected during this study, including the first records of Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830, Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819), Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826), Pollenia rudis (Fabricius, 1794) and Stomorhina lunata (Fabricius, 1805) from Porto Santo, and of C. vicina, L. sericata and S. lunata from Desertas Islands. The presence of Calliphora loewi Enderlein, 1903 in Madeira Laurisilva forest is discussed and its first instar larva is redescribed, revealing important differences in relation to its original description. An identification key to the adult Madeiran blowflies is provided for the first time. Knowledge on the taxonomic diversity and distribution of blowflies from the Madeira Archipelago is updated. New and interesting findings are reported for poorly studied islands and islets of this archipelago, together with a brief analysis of the diversity of Macaronesian Calliphoridae s. l. Seven blowfly species were collected during this study, including the first records of Calliphora vicina Robineau-Desvoidy, 1830, Chrysomya albiceps (Wiedemann, 1819), Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826), Pollenia rudis (Fabricius, 1794) and Stomorhina lunata (Fabricius, 1805) from Porto Santo, and of C. vicina, L. sericata and S. lunata from Desertas Islands. The presence of Calliphora loewi Enderlein, 1903 in Madeira Laurisilva forest is discussed and its first instar larva is redescribed, revealing important differences in relation to its original description. An identification key to the adult Madeiran blowflies is provided for the first time.