Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens (Diptera: Stratiomyidae), larvae reduce parasite eggs but develop poorly on horse manure

Cyathostomins are common digestive tract parasites of grazing horses that spread through contact with horse feces. Horse feces are colonized by a variety of organisms, some of which could serve to reduce parasite loads in horse pastures. Black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.; Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae (BSFL) could be an ideal candidate for biological control of cyathostomins, due to their near-global distribution, low risk of pathogen transmission, ability to develop on a variety of nutrient poor substrates (including horse manure), and dramatic effect on microbial communities that cyathostomins depend on. Here, using controlled feeding bioassays, we evaluated the effect of BSFL on cyathostomin egg densities in horse manure while also tracking BSFL performance on manure relative to standard grain-based diets. We found that BSFL consumed less substrate, were slower to reach the prepupal stage, and ultimately yielded less biomass when reared on horse manure compared to on grain-based diets. However, BSFL reduced average cyathostomin egg densities in horse manure by over 3-fold. Overall, our results suggest that despite horse manure being a poor substrate for BSFL growth, BSFL effectively reduce cyathostomin egg loads in infected horse manure, though the mechanisms by which they do this are uncertain. While BSFL are known to transform the microbial communities within a diversity of rearing substrates, their effect on larger, parasitic organisms in animal manures may be underappreciated. Promoting decomposition of infected horse manure with BSFL might be a promising approach to manage parasite populations among grazing horses.