Light for beneficial insects

Insects are the most species-rich class in the animal kingdom and have enormous potential for various areas such as human nutrition, applications in agriculture and horticulture or as animal feed due to their diverse specializations, effective metabolism and diverse survival strategies. Industrial mass breeding of insects through the development and use of efficient breeding methods is crucial for the marketable use of this resource in global competition.
In this context, the project “Development of species-specific lighting methods to increase yield and efficiency in industrial mass breeding and the use of insects” is investigating the influence of light of different wavelengths on various beneficial insects bred by the project partner Katz Biotech AG. It is known that activity patterns such as prey or host search, mating behavior or egg laying in various insects are influenced or controlled by the light conditions (wavelength, intensity, photoperiodicity).
The aim of the project was to develop innovative lighting methods for the industrial mass propagation of the soldier fly Hermetia illuscens (used as a protein-rich feed) and for the use of beneficial insects such as the ichneumon wasp Lysiphlebus testaceipes in greenhouses, which contribute to increasing production and simultaneously reducing production costs.
Suitable screening methods, adapted to the respective insect, had to be developed for the investigation.
By using an automated screening system “Phytolux” located at the GMBU e.V., with which the lighting, fumigation and temperature can be varied and controlled in 16 independent cavities, for example, the influence of light on the mating behavior of the soldier fly was to be investigated. This was done partly by observing the behaviour using miniaturized cameras and partly by counting the hatched larvae and laid eggs as a measure of effective mating. The study focused on wavelengths in the UV, blue, green and red range between 365 nm and 665 nm (LED boards).

In order to investigate the influence of light on the parasitization behaviour of the parasitic wasp Lysiphlebus testaceipes, which contributes to the control of aphids in greenhouses by laying eggs in them, experimental studies were carried out in Petri dishes, as this insect is only about 2 mm in size and has to be observed at close range.

Attacks of the parasitic wasps on aphids were recorded using a camera system and subsequently evaluated for the number of attacks under the respective lighting as a measure of parasitization behaviour.
As a result, correlations between different wavelengths or light intensities and the behavior of the investigated species could be determined, which will subsequently be validated on a larger scale by the project partner and ultimately lead to adapted lighting strategies for practical use.

Project partner: Katz Biotech AG
Duration: 01.01.2019 – 30.06.2021
Funding body: VDI/VDE-IT on behalf of the BMWE