Data from: Commercial Bacillus strains improve the performance of black soldier fly larvae
Data files
Mar 09, 2026 version files 61.42 KB
-
Data_larval_length.xlsx
18.32 KB
-
Data_larval_survival.xlsx
10.32 KB
-
Data_larval_weight.xlsx
17.27 KB
-
Data_on_larval_proximate_analysis.xlsx
12.14 KB
-
README.md
3.36 KB
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<0.001). Significantly higher growth, survival rates, and protein content were observed in larvae fed on P2-inoculated feed (p<0.001). Findings of the present study demonstrate that exogenous Bacillus probiotic strain mixtures not only enhance larval growth but also survival rates and nutrient accumulation, thereby increasing overall production.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.cc2fqz6kx
Description of the data and file structure
We have submitted our raw data on the commercial probiotic inoculation on the effects of black soldier fly larvae length (Data_larval_length.xlsx), larval weight (Data_larval_weight.xlsx), larval survival (Data_larval_survival.xlsx), and larval proximate analysis (Data_on_larval_proximate_analysis.xlsx).
Description of the data and file structure
Description
Inoculation level in CFU/kg: The amount of colony forming units (CFU) per kilogram (Kg) of feed
P0 [0 CFU/kg] : The negative control where no probiotic was added in the feed
P1 [4×10^10^ CFU/kg]: The probiotic addition where the levels were 4 billion bacteria of strain per kilogram of feed were added.
P2 [8×1010 CFU/kg]: The probiotic addition where the levels were 8 billion bacteria of strain per kilogram of feed were added.
P3 [12×1010 CFU/kg]: The probiotic addition where the levels were 12 billion bacteria of strain per kilogram of feed were added.
The inoculation levels were used across the variables in each data set.
Name: Data_larval_length.xlsx
Larval length (mm): The larval length was measured in millimeters (mm) across all inoculation levels. This data was used to generate Figure 1 on larval length.
Name: Data_larval_weight.xlsx
Larval weight (g): The larval weight was measured in grams (g) across all inoculation levels. This data was used to generate Figure 2 on larval weight.
Name: Data_larval_survival.xlsx
Larval survival rate (%): Larvae survival was measured as a percentage (%) of the number of remaining larvae at the end of the experiment to the number of larvae stocked at the beginning of the experiment. This data was used to generate Table 2 on larval survival rate.
Name: Data_on_larval_proximate_analysis.xlsx
This data was used to generate Table 3, Figure 3, 4, 5 and 6 in the manuscript.
Moisture (%): This was measured as a percentage (%); the amount of water left in a dried sample of larvae.
Crude fat (g/100 g): Crude fat was measured as grams per one hundred grams (100 g) of larvae sample.
Protein (g/100 g): Protein was measured as grams per one hundred grams (100 g) of larvae sample.
Crude fibre (g/100 g): Crude fibre was measured as grams per one hundred grams (100 g) of larvae sample.
Carbohydrate (g/100 g): Carbohydrate was measured as grams per one hundred grams (100 g) of larvae sample.
Energy (Kcal/kg): Energy was calculated in Kilo calories per kilogram (Kcal/Kg) of larvae sample.
Ash content (g/100 g): Ash content was measured as grams per one hundred grams of larvae sample.
Dry matter (%): This was measured as the percentage of larvae on dry matter basis
Code/software
Python programming language library scripts (scipy, matplotlib, seaborn and statsmodels) and Jefffrey's Amazing Statistical Package (JASP) were used to generate the Figures and tables.
Access information
Data was derived from the following sources:
Black soldier fly larvae, larval weight, larval length, proximate analysis were derived from the following sources:
Entomological websites
Probiotic studies using search engines such as google scholar, PubMed, SciSpace, Scopus