Comparative Analysis of In Vitro Fermentation Parameters in Total Mixed Rations of Dairy Cows with Varied Levels of Defatted Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens) as a Substitute for Soybean Meal

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Topic, keywords, and abstract are fine.

Introduction:

The use of insects for feed production has both supporters and opponents. I believe it is important to emphasize the significance of using insect larvae throughout the industry.

Something like that:

The potential applications of insects in industry and biotechnology are vast and exciting. From agriculture to waste management, from sustainable feed production to circular economy practices, insects are paving the way for innovative and environmentally friendly solutions. As researchers continue to explore their capabilities and refine production methods, we are witnessing a transformative shift in how we perceive and utilize these remarkable creatures. It is worth highlighting that there are two dominant species in global research (Hermetia illucens and Tenebrio molitor). One positive aspect is that they can feed on the decomposed substrate (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137861) and even on difficult-to-degrade substances (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154758). Through efficient digestion involving microorganisms, both the insect mass and frass can still be utilized for feed and fertilizer purposes.

Materials and methods:

Line 82. I am not sure if double quotes are the correct solution, you can use a semicolon)

Line 105 (and many other places). I wonder if you really used the subscript in the text for the formulas of chemical compounds? Looks like you made the font smaller, and that is not correct.

Line 99. In this case, the method is described very flatly, there are many approaches to incubation testing. The purpose and effect of this experimental module should be described here (In order to determine.... (...) The result obtained was...)

Reasults:

Line 115. I cannot find the system name and manufacturer name.

Line 171. Poor description of statistical methods. It is not known whether the distributions were normal and whether the variances were homogeneous. No data collected in local correlation analysis (PCA, PCoA or Network analysis)

Figure 1. Regressions + R2 values?

Discussion:

Good discussion. The main complaint is the lack of a direct comparison to the already existing feeds to hard prove the usefulness of the black soldier.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Title: as a substitute for soybean meal of who/which animal species do you refer this feed?

Line 12: in the basal ration of who? Please, clarify the animal species (ruminant animals).

Line 44-53. Something should be said about the fact that insect meals are approved in Europe for aquaculture, poultry and pigs, but unfortunately, they are not still allowed for ruminants.

Line 54-63. If defatted BSF was used, it should be explained, and give a reason.

Line 74. Black

Line 80. If the whole larvae were not used, and defatted larvae meals as flours were used, the word “meal” should be included: “defatted black soldier fly larvae meal”.

Table 1. How do you explain the increasing “starch” content of diets with the increasing content of BSFL? As far as I know, BSFL are not specially rich in starch, and they are not even higher than soybean… ¿? This explanation should be given in lines 295-297. Including references that gave data on starch content of BSFL and data on starch content of soybean.  

Conclusions section should specifically conclude about your specific study performed. However, you just wrote something similar to “future ideas” or “further studies”.  

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf