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Larvae of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) has been widely applied as a biological agent for biodegradable wastes upcycling through bioconversion process. However, most of the biodegradable wastes produced from economic activities other than industrial is heterogenous. This may cause some physiological change which may alter the survivorship, growth, and efficiency of the bioconversion process. In this study, the substrate combination of macronutrients provided to black soldier fly larvae were observed to understand the larvae ability to degrade organic waste from economic activities. The substrat proportion consist of three major macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, and lipid) and made of a mixture of decayed cabbage (Brassica oleracea) (source of carbohydrate), shark catfish (Pangasius sp.) (source of protein), and avocado (Persea americana) (source of lipid) which consisted of four types of substrate namely high fiber, high protein, high lipid, and balance. The feeding rate was 100 mg/larvae/day which provides every three days until 50% of larvae metamorphosed into prepupae. Mortality rate, the weight of larvae, and weight of residue (undigested substrate) were measured during substrate replacement and used to calculated survivorship rate, ECD (Efficiency of Conversion Digested-feed), AD (Approximate digestibility), and WRI (Waste Reduction Index). The proximate analysis also conducted on the harvested larvae biomass. The larvae group fed on high protein substrate showed best survivorship (64,75±2,60%), growth rate (2,97±0,166 mg/larvae/day), and AD (57,39±3,39) while the highest WRI recorded for larvae group fed on high fiber substrate and the highest ECD recorded for larvae group fed on high lipid substrate. The proximate analysis showed the best nutritional content of prepupae of larvae group fed on high protein substrate. It can be concluded that the proportion of macronutrients of substrate effect the growth and bioconversion performance of black soldier fly larvae. Some strategies related to the optimization of the bioconversion process for heterogeny substrate are discussed.Keywords: biodegradable wastes, black soldier fly, heterogeneity, growth, nutritional content, survivorship.

Greenhouse is widely applied to provide protection against pest and harsh environment condition and most farmers usually planted mixed crops inside. However, this system creates an isolation to pollination which responsible for fruit production. In this study, local domesticated stingless bees, Trigona (Tetragonula) laeviceps, was applied as pollinator for two crops, beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) planted as mixed crops inside greenhouse. The benefit of the bees was measured as pollination success and quality of the crops produced (size and weight). Tomato flowers received no visit from both wild pollinators (all was Apis cerana) and stingless bees while in bean flowers, A. cerana exhibited more and longer visits to flower than T. laeviceps albeit lower number of flowers visited. The pollination efficiency between wild pollinator and T. laeviceps for beans (both at 41%) while self pollination produced better pollination efficiency for tomatoes planted at open field (84% compared to 71%). Beans planted at open field produced better products (bigger size and heavier) while tomatoes produced lesser quality although the differences were not significant. Based on this study, T. laeviceps may applied as pollinator agent in greenhouse and for mixed crops of beans and tomatoes.

Organic waste produced by economic activities may create health, aesthetic, and economic problems. One of the approaches applied to solve this problem is the utilization of decomposer macrofauna to decompose the waste. One of the decomposers with great potential is Black Soldier Fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) that can consume various types of organic wastes and converts it into biomass with high protein and lipid content. In this study, banana peels and coconut testa had been fed to the larvae at 200 mg/larvae/day as the objects that represented organic wastes with low fiber content and high fiber content respectively. The purpose of this study was to observe the growth and efficiency of BSF larvae in decomposing those wastes. The analysis was conducted on some parameters such as the growth and consumption rate, the efficiency of conversion of digested (ECD), waste reduction index, and mortality rate. The results showed that BSF larvae THAT consumed banana peel had a higher final weight (58.24 mg), growth rate, and consumption rate while the mortality rate was lower than BSF larvae that consumed coconut testa. The ECD of the larvae group that consumed banana peel was higher than the larvae group that consumed coconut testa. The waste reduction index of banana peel was higher than coconut testa (1.5 and 1.4, respectively). The larvae that consumed coconut testa had a longer pupation period (9±1,75 days) compared to the larvae that consumed banana peel. Based on this result, it can be concluded that the fiber content of organic waste affected the decomposition rate and growth of BSF larvae.

—Earthworm plays important role in the terrestrial ecosystem as decomposer and sensitive to environmental changes. Herbicide application as an effort to improve farm productivity may produce some effects on earthworms. The objective of this study was to find the toxicity level of paraquat, glyphosate, and metsulfuron, the three most common active ingredients of herbicide, on earthworm, Eisenia fetida. Three hundred adult earthworms, weighed between 300 to 600 mg, were divided evenly into one control group and four treatment groups for each herbicide. A dose of 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 mg/kg for paraquat; 0, 2500, 5000, 10000, 20000 mg/kg for glyphosate; and 0, 750, 1500, 3000, 6000 mg/kg for metsulfuron was sprayed and mixed evenly on medium of earthworms medium. Each treatment was replicated 4 times. The mortality rate was recorded daily for 14 days and used as data to calculated LC50 of each herbicide. LC50 of paraquat, glyphosate, and metsulfuron was 951.93 ± 115.63 mg/kg, 5456.36 ± 514.62 mg/kg, and 2599.96 ± 211.85 mg/kg, respectively. On the other hand, the weight of earthworm has a negative correlation with the dose of herbicide applied to the medium. Based on this study, paraquat was the most toxic herbicide followed by metsulfuron and glyphosate. Keywords: eisenia fetida, glyphosate, LC50, metsulfuron, paraquat, toxicity Abstrak— Cacing tanah memiliki peran yang penting di ekosistem terestrial sebagai dekomposer dan peka terhadap pengaruh lingkungan. Penggunaan herbisida sebagai sarana peningkatan produksi lahan pertanian kemungkinan memiliki dampak terhadap cacing tanah. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menentukan LC50 (15 hari) dari herbisida kelompok parakuat, glifosat, dan metsulfuron pada Eisenia fetida dan pengaruhnya terhadap perubahan berat cacing tanah. Pada penelitian ini digunakan tiga ratus cacing tanah dewasa (sudah terbentuk klitelum) dengan berat masing-masing antara 300-600 mg yang dibagi menjadi satu kelompok kontrol dan 4 kelompok perlakuan untuk tiap kelompok jenis herbisida. Herbisida didedahkan ke dalam media tempat tinggal cacing sebanyak 0, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 mg/kg untuk parakuat; 0, 2500, 5000, 10000, 20000 mg/kg untuk glifosat; dan 0, 750, 1500, 3000, 6000 mg/kg untuk metsulfuron. Masing-masing perlakuan dilakukan empat kali pengulangan. Jumlah cacing tanah yang mati dicatat selama 14 hari pengamatan dan pada akhir pengamatan ditentukan nilai LC50 dari setiap herbisida. Nilai LC50 yang didapat pada kelompok parakuat, glifosat, dan metsulfuron adalah sebesar 951.93 ± 115.63 mg/kg, 5456.36 ± 514.62 mg/kg, dan 2599.96 ± 211.85 mg/kg. Berat cacing tanah didapatkan menurun seiringan dengan meningkatnya konsentrasi herbisida. Dengan demikian, dapat disimpulkan bahwa herbisida dari kelompok senyawa aktif parakuat memiliki toksisitas paling tinggi, disusul oleh herbisida dari kelompok senyawa aktif metsulfuron dan glifosat. Kata kunci: eisenia fetida, glifosat, LC50, metsulfuron, parakuat, toksisitas

Trogloxenes particularly bats play an important role in subterranean habitat. They provide organic material and induce cave microclimate that influence cave-dwelling biota, including arthropods. This study aimed to learn how bats population influences cave-dwelling arthropods community. Data collections were performed in three caves which had different bats species in Tasikmalaya karst area namely Liang Boeh, Liang Seungit and Sarongge. We recorded bats population, guano production, physicochemical condition of caves passage, and arthropods community in each cave. All samplings were only conducted in the specific sites of the dark zone where bat populations were aggregated. Data indicated that Liang Boeh was inhibited by Hipposideros sp (±472 individuals), Liang Seungit by Pteripodidae and Miniopterus sp. (±188 individuals), and Sarongge by Rhinolophus sp. (±1194 individuals). Guano production was positively correlated with bats population. Chemical compositions of soil were varying among bats species. Bats population strongly induced caves physicochemical condition. A total 15986 individuals of cave-dwelling arthropods belonging to 5 Classes and 18 Orders were recorded. Our result revealed that bats population determined arthropods community. Caves with greater bats population size and dominated by insectivorous species would potentially have greater diversity and abundance of cave-dwelling arthropods.

Agricultural wastes had been considered as one of the major sources of environmental as most of the waste consist of organic wastes which produces a significant amount of greenhouse gases when decompose. Some studies showed the benefit of these wastes as a material for insect farming, such as larva of black soldier flies (Hermetia illucens), to produce a protein and lipid-rich biomass for various types of bioindustries. However, other studies showed that most of the organic agricultural wastes originated from local farms, contaminated with insecticides. This condition caused a major concern on the health of the larvae during farming as the information on the effect of insecticide on black soldier fly larvae is considered rare. In this study, we tested the toxicity of some common synthetic and organic insecticides, applied in the local farming system, to black soldier fly larvae. Two types of synthetic insecticides (active ingredient endosulfan and profenofos) and one type of organic insecticide (a microbial insecticide with active ingredient 5-endotoxin) were mixed with commercial chicken feed which used as feeding material for the 10 days-old larvae. A total number of 120 larvae were used in this study and the mortality rate was observed for 72 hours. The result of this study showed LC50 of endosulfan was recorded at 236.25 ppm, profenofos at 380.62 ppm, and 5-endotoxin at more than 7600 ppm. All of this value significantly higher than insecticide residual limit regulation and reports on the level of insecticide residual level of common local agricultural products. Based on this study, it can be concluded that common organic agricultural wastes are applicable to be used as feeding material of black soldier fly larvae directly although further studies are needed regarding the safety of the final product of insect farming.

Black and white pepper have been considered as the most important perennial crops in some regions of Indonesia yet it took about 3-5 years before the plant start producing. One of the possible approaches to maintain the income of the farmer in the perennial plantation is multi-cropping with high-value annual crops, such as vegetables. However, many pests of vegetables already showed resistance to the common synthetic pesticide applied on the black pepper plant. Thus, it is necessary to apply another strategy for pest control, by applying entomopathogenic fungi. In this study, bioassays and field efficacy of two local isolates of entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana and Cordyceps sp.) against one of the most insecticide-resistant pests, larvae of Crocidolomia pavonana (Fabr.) was conducted. In this study, exposure to 1 x 104 conidia mL−1 to 1 x 107 conidia mL−1 resulted in mean larval mortalities from 23.33 to 100% in two days. The probit analysis showed that the LC50 of B. bassiana was estimated at 4.26 x 104 conidia mL−1 which significantly more toxic than Cordyceps sp. (1.57 x 105 conidia mL−1) although the lethal time was similar. From the field tests, cabbage was sprayed with suspension contained 107 conidia mL−1. Means percent of mortality for all treatments was more than 75% and significantly higher (P < 0.05) than the control (tween 80). Conidia of Cordyceps sp. in palm oil cooking oil offered the most promising result against the C. pavonana.

Environmental pollution by nuclear radiation has been known to endanger chromosomes. This research aims to analyze the abnormal forms of root shallot chromosomes which are irradiated by nuclear with various levels of radiation. This is a quasi-experimental research. The treatment group was given radiation through nuclear reactors at a dose of 11.88 rad, 8.69 rad, 2.01 rad, 1.28 rad, 1.15 rad, 0.26 rad, 0.00034 rad, 0.00016 rad, while the control group was without radiation. The staining of the preparations was carried out using Acetocarmine 2%. Reading preparations using a microscope with a magnification of 400x. The results of the study showed the emergence of various forms of chromosomal abnormalities. Abnormal forms that appear are pole to pole arrangement chromosome, unequal separation, binucleate cell, pulverized ball metaphase, sticky anaphase with broken bridge, chromosome rosette, abnormal chromosome fragment, early cell plate formation at late anaphase, sticky metaphase, binucleate cell with a bridge, chromosome fragments, binucleate cells, chromosome gaps, ball anaphases with a diagonal scattered anaphase bridge, and aberrant grouping at anaphases in a giant cell. The novelty of this preliminary study is that chromosomal abnormalities in the onion roots were found even in the very low radiation group. Large-scale research is required and their effects if eaten by animals or humans need further research.

Organic wastes are one of the major problems in many cities. A common treatment for the wastes usually by sanitary landfill, composting, or burning. However, many cities of developing countries lack the effort to collect, separate, and transform organic waste lead to an increasing pile of organic wastes and the cost of treatment. Bioconversion of organic wastes by larvae of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) (Hermetia illucens) into versatile prepupae could be considered as a solution for this problem as this process give economic value to organic wastes. Studies in Indonesia showed the high potency of this insect to apply for managing organic wastes. However, most of the studies only focused on one type of wastes which is only available from standardizing industrial systems, not municipal systems, and small industries which are the main organic producers in Indonesia. In this study, BSFL was fed only one type of organic wastes showed a shorter development period. Changes in feedstock quality from low protein to high protein material generally produced lower survival rates and weight with a longer development period. The result indicated the importance of the nutrition content early period feedstock to produce high-quality larvae and more sustainable organic waste management.

One of the essential ecosystem services which profoundly affect the human population is pollination. Studies in subtropical countries which applies modern and expansive agricultural systems showed the significant impact of pollinator agent. However, the study on pollination service impact on the productivity of farms in Indonesia is quite rare. This research was conducted to determine pollination efficiency both open pollination by wild bees (Apis cerana) and stingless bees (Tetragonula laeviceps) to the quality and quantity of green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes in a monocropping system of a local small-scale farm. This research was conducted from January to April 2018 in Sukawangi Village, Pamulihan, Sumedang, West Java. The observation was started at 08.00-16.00 every five minutes during the flowering period. In these experiments, ten flowers that still not bloomed, in each of 10 plants per treatment were randomly selected. The effects of the pollinator were assessed by the visitation pattern of visits and plant reproductive success. This study showed that each of the pollination treatments did not affect the weight and the average length of all tested fruits. However, the application of stingless bees as pollinator revealed a significant difference in the average diameter (p=0.013) and fruit shape of the cucumbers.

Insect larvae, such as black soldier fly larvae (BSFL: Hermetia illucens) are currently being considered as an alternative source of protein for poultry and aquaculture industry while in the same time apply as agent to manage organic wastes. In order to achieve both roles it is necessary to develop an appropriate farming methodology and understand the impact of different feeding source for the insect production. The study explored the effect of three local plant based organic wastes as feedstocks to growth of the black soldier fly larvae. Separate feeding trials on horse manure (HM), vegetable wastes (VW), and tofu dreg (TD) was done and their effect on BSF larvae growth rate, larvae weight and total prepupal yield in grams content analysed. The efficiency of the BSF larvae to consume and ability to reduce the waste load of the different substrates was also evaluated. The result showed all materials suitable as feeding material for black soldier fly. Difference on physical properties and chemical content affected the development time, harvested biomass, efficiency of digestivity, and efficiency of biomass production which is unique for each type of waste. This study provide base line information for future development of plant based organic waste management.

In Indonesia, hot pepper (Capsicum annuum) is one of the most important spices. Despite the fact that high yield cultivars and fertilizers have been applied to increase the annual production of this spice, local farming is always unable to maintain constant production. Studies to find the explanation of this problem mostly focused on pest attack while possibility of low fruit production due to lack of pollination was neglected. In this study, the effect of pollinator visitation to fruit set and quality was assessed by application of two local domesticated honey bees, Asiatic honey bees (Apis cerana) and stingless bees (Trigona laeviceps) as potential pollinator agents at hot pepper plantation. This study found that both bees had similar visitation rate whileA. ceranaspend less time in flowers. Visitation byA. ceranaandTrigona laevicepsimproved fruit set, fruit production per plant, average fruit weight, and fruit size. This result confirms the importance of cross pollination for hot pepper production and both species could be used as pollination agent for hot pepper. Advantages and disadvantages for each species as pollination agent for local Indonesia farm system are discussed in this paper.

This study aims to determine the distribution of brittle star (Ophiuroidea) in the waters of Rancabuaya coasts, Garut, West Java. The study was conducted in January-April 2016. The method used purposive sampling technique. The results showed that there were eight species (Gymnolophus obscura, Ophiomastix venosa, Clarkcoma canaliculata, Ophiocoma alexandri, Ophiocoma echinata, Ophiocoma valenciae, Ophiocoma erinaceus and Ophiocoma scolopendrina) into 4 genera and 2 families. Rancabuaya coastal has habitat characteristics with three types of substrate (rock, rocky and coral reef substrate) and the water conditions based on the substrate types (DO, pH, temperature, salinity) are in normal condition and suitable for the life of the Ophiurodea. The species of Ophiocoma scolopendrine has the widest distribution compared to other species because the substrate is in accordance with habitat its species. The results of this study can be used as baseline data for future coastal waters management.

Kinasih I, Cahyanto T, Widiana A, Kurnia DNI, Julita C, Putra RE. 2016. Soil invertebrate diversity in coffee-pine agroforestry system at Sumedang, West Java. Biodiversitas 17: 473-478. In order to maintain natural habitat while provide economic benefit for community near forest, some agroforestry systems were developed. This system depends on service provided by ecosystem such as nutrient cycling by soil invertebrates. One of important factors of healthy ecosystem services at particular agroecosystem is local biodiversity of the area. In this study we carried out biodiversity survey of soil invertebrates at local coffee - pine agroforestry system at Rancakalong Sub-district, Sumedang District, West Java, Indonesia. Soil invertebrates were collected from coffee plantation, coffee and pine (Pinus merkusii) plantation and pine plantation by 40 pitfall trap per location. Results showed the highest abundance was recorded at coffee plantation (2477 individuals) and the lowest was at pine plantation (1372 individuals). All collected soil invertebrates grouped into 3 classes (Arachnida, Chilopoda and Insecta), 16 orders, 47 families, and 124 morphospecies. Soil invertebrates were dominated by Formicidae, Scarabaeidae, Blattidae, Forficulidae, and Phalangiidae. The average diversity index of soil invertebrates was 2.25 (coffee plantation), 2.64 (coffee and pine plantation) and 1.85 (pine plantation). The evenness value was 0.30 (coffee plantation), 0.49 (coffee and pine plantation) and 0.39 (pine plantation). This study showed agroforestry may improve soil invertebrate abundance and diversity of monoculture pine forest through creation of additional and alternative nutrition and microhabitats.

Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens is one organism that widely used to reduce organic wastes through bioconversion process by employing the ability of larvae to consume various types of organic waste. This process changes organic waste into larvae and prepupae biomass which was developed in order to provide an alternative protein source for animal feedstock. In this study, the effect of four experimental diets was analyzed, namely horse manure, a mixture of horse manure and vegetable waste, sheep manure and a mixture of sheep manure and vegetable waste. Newly hatched larvae were inoculated on experimental diets. The sample of 20 larvae from 5 replicates were measured and weighed until pupae stage. Nutrient content of prepupae reared on experimental diet were analyzed proximately. The effects of diet on development time, growth of the larval stages, mortality, fecundity and nutritional composition of black soldier fly were studied. Results indicate that a mixture of horse manure and vegetable waste diet was the best of the four diets in terms of the shorter of development time, the lowest of percentage mortality, the highest of fecundity and the better of nutritional content. In conclusion, both of morphological development and the nutritional ingredient of black soldier fly were highly determined by the used growing substrates and food ingested. Addition of vegetable waste can improve growth performance and nutritional content of black soldier fly when reared on horse and sheep manure.