Hermetia illucens is a member of Hermetiinae subfamily of Stratiomyidae family. It is native to America where BSF may currently be found from Argentina to Canada. Adult flies lack stingers mouthparts and digestive organs therefore they do not bite and consume food. The female flies have reddish-brown abdomen whilst the male is 20–25 mm long with bronze belly. The BSF larvae body composition varies between 7 and 39% dry matter with fat making up largest portion. The purpose of this review is to understand the economic importance of Black soldier fly. Among substrates protein content ranges from 37-63% dry matter. The food that BSF larvae eat determines their body composition even though they often have high protein and fat values. High concentrations of lauric, palmatic and oleic acid were observed in larvae and prepupae of Hermetia illucens. They have been demonstrated to contain 19–40% monosaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and 58-72% saturated fatty acids. Calcium, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, phosphorus and zinc are all highly concentrated. The larvae are an innovative waste management source that treat biowaste. Through this process garbage is transformed into the waste of larval biomass. The dry mass is decreased and basic components produced for the manufacture of fertilizer and soil conditioner lubricants conditioner for soil bio diesel medicines and animal feeds. To conclude, the BSFL biowaste processing can provide high value marketable products that support sustainable and profitable development resource recovery based approaches to waste management.
Key words: Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, Frass, Biodiesel, Waste management, Fertilizer production