Insect production is gaining importance as a way to convert organic side streams into valuable resources for food and feed. Black soldier fly (BSF, Hermetia illucens) larvae are particularly promising because of their ability to transform a wide range of organic materials into nutrient-rich biomass containing proteins and fats.

However, successful insect production requires a better understanding of how rearing conditions influence insect biology, behaviour and production performance. How do larvae respond to environmental variation? Can behavioural patterns help us understand their responses to challenging conditions and identify opportunities to improve rearing strategies?

This PhD position is part of EntoBOOST, a project funded by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). EntoBOOST brings together researchers from KU Leuven, Ghent University, the University of Antwerp, the University of Insubria in Italy, Inagro and Thomas More. The project aims to deepen our understanding of insect physiology, biology and behaviour to improve rearing strategies and support the production of safe, high-quality insect-based products with desirable biological and nutritional properties.

Your PhD will address a central question within the project: How do black soldier fly larvae respond behaviourally to different rearing conditions, and how are these responses related to larval growth, survival and production performance?

To investigate this, you will study larval behaviour using an advanced camera-based sensor platform already developed and operational within the research team. The platform combines high-resolution RGB imaging, visible and near-infrared multispectral imaging, and thermal imaging. These measurements will be complemented by gas-emission monitoring, including carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrous oxide and methane, and by conventional rearing parameters such as larval growth and survival, substrate humidity, pH and composition.

Your role

You will work alongside a PhD researcher with an engineering background who continues to develop the sensor hardware and computer-vision algorithms used to extract movement and behavioural information from the images.

Your primary focus will be the biological research: translating research questions into experiments, analysing behavioural data and interpreting the results in relation to environmental conditions, larval physiology and production performance.

You will take ownership of the biological questions and statistical analysis while working closely with the engineering team to understand how sensor data are generated and how they can be used to answer those questions. Previous experience with computer vision is not required; curiosity about the technology and a willingness to learn are what matter.

What will you do?

• Design and conduct experiments: develop and implement rearing experiments to investigate how different environmental and stress-linked conditions affect larval behaviour and production performance.
• Analyse behavioural data: work with the engineering team to extract meaningful behavioural features from camera-based sensor data and analyse behavioural time series.
• Connect behaviour to production: use statistical modelling to investigate relationships between behavioural patterns, environmental conditions, growth and survival.
• Investigate physiological responses: collaborate with researchers at the University of Antwerp to link behavioural observations to metabolic markers associated with stress.
• Communicate your findings: publish your results in international peer-reviewed journals and present your research at scientific conferences, contributing to the development of precision insect farming.

You will be supported by KU Leuven experts in insect production and processing and livestock technology. Experiments will take place at the SymBIOnt Insect Pilot Plant of KU Leuven and Thomas More in Geel, as well as at Inagro’s insect-rearing facilities.

At the Toxicological Centre of the University of Antwerp, a fellow PhD researcher is developing and validating a metabolomics platform to identify biomarkers associated with stress in black soldier fly larvae. By combining your behavioural research with this work, you will help build a more comprehensive understanding of the biological responses of larvae to challenging rearing conditions.

Ultimately, a better understanding of these responses can help identify opportunities to optimize rearing strategies, improve production efficiency and, in the longer term, contribute to production systems that better account for insect welfare.