Table 1.

Formulation (g/100 g) of the control (C) and the experimental diets (TMD1–TMD3) for black soldier fly larvae (BSFLs).

Feedstuffs	C	TMD1	TMD2	TMD3
Ground corn	50	-	-	-
Ground barley	-	68	16	15
Wheat middlings	-	-	50	55
Wheat bran	20	20	-	-
Dehydrated alfalfa	30	12	10	30
Wheat straw	-	-	24	-

TMD1: high-nonfiber carbohydrate content total mixed diet; TMD2: high-fiber content total mixed diet; TMD3: high-protein content total mixed diet In the same way, the TMD3 was formulated to obtain a 30% higher CP content than that of the control diet. Larval feeding was performed to provide 12.2 mg/larvae/day of one of the three experimental TMDs or the control diet. Before mixing, all the ingredients were ground to pass a 1-mm screen by a hammer mill (Retsch GmbH, Germany). Just before feeding, deionized water was added to the mixed ingredients at variable rates (in milliliters per gram of diet as fed) according to the water-holding capacity of the diets: 1.70, 1.63, 1.82, and 1.73 for C, TMD1, TMD2, and TMD3, respectively. All the experimental larvaria were fed concurrently at 2- or 3-day intervals according to the same schedule that was adopted for all trials. A single stock maintained in freezing conditions (−18 °C) was prepared for each diet to be used throughout the experimental period. All the trials were carried out at 28.5 ± 0.3 °C and 75.6 ± 4.2 % RH.