BSF rearing in Crete/ Greece, PoC

<b>Mass rearing black soldier fly </b><b><i>Hermetia illucens </i></b><b>larvae in a greenhouse: Potential and boundary conditions</b><br>Black soldier fly <i>Hermetia illucens</i> (BSF) larval growth experiments were conducted in industrial-type rearing trays using brewers’ spent grains (BSG), an agrifood side-stream typically used in BSG larval mass rearing. All life-stages of BSF were maintained and all experiments took place at the R&amp;D facilities of MAGMA Agro S.A. (Crete, Greece) in a greenhouse room with climate control comparable to that of a horticulture greenhouse, from July to December 2024, while ambient temperature was recorded throughout. 15 experiments involving 100 rearing trays, using 3 types of BSG were performed in this period. All analyses were based on this dataset. Despite the strong temporal variability of the temperature, larval growth was achieved at levels comparable to settings with tighter climate control, while meaningful effects of rearing parameters were detectable. The limitations of the greenhouse in terms climate control enabled post-hoc analyses of temperature effects on larval growth and bioconversion across a large range. As the period from July to December is representative of the entire year in terms of the meteorological conditions of Crete, conclusions could be drawn on the potential and boundary conditions of commercially rearing BSF larvae year-round in a greenhouse setting in this and similar regions.