PhD in Insect Behaviour and Precision Farming: Environmental Responses of Black Soldier Fly Larvae

This PhD position is part of a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Livestock Technology group, led by Prof. Ben Aernouts, and the Research Group for Insect Production and Processing, led by Prof. Jeroen De Smet, at KU Leuven campus Geel.

The two groups bring together complementary expertise in insect biology, production and processing, sensor technology and data analysis.

The Research Group for Insect Production and Processing investigates biological and biochemical challenges across the industrial insect value chain, from insect safety and production to processing and the use of insect-based products. Within the field of precision livestock farming (PLF), the Livestock Technology group develops innovative sensor technologies and data-analysis methods for automatically assessing animal behaviour, health and production performance.

By combining these areas of expertise, the two groups aim to develop better ways of measuring and interpreting insect behaviour and understanding how rearing conditions influence insect biology and production.

KU Leuven is a research-intensive university with a strong international orientation. Its campus in Geel offers a green, rural setting and close connections with research institutes, industry and insect-production facilities.

Project

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.

Profile

We are looking for a curious and motivated PhD candidate who enjoys asking biological questions, working with data and collaborating across disciplines.

You

• Hold a Master's degree in biology, biosciences, bioscience engineering, animal sciences or an equivalent field. Candidates with a Master's degree in data science and a strong interest in biology are also encouraged to apply.
• Have a strong interest in animal behaviour (ethology), insect biology and the relationship between environmental conditions and biological responses.
• Are eager to investigate how rearing conditions influence larval behaviour, physiology and production performance.
• Enjoy working with data and are motivated to take responsibility for the statistical analysis and interpretation of your experiments.
• Are interested in how sensor technology and data analysis can advance biological research, and are willing to learn the basic principles of computer vision in collaboration with the engineering team.
• Have a critical, analytical, creative and innovative mindset.
• Have good written and oral communication skills in English.
• Enjoy working in an international, multidisciplinary research environment and collaborating with researchers from different backgrounds.

The following experience is an advantage, but not a requirement

• Insect rearing or entomological research, particularly involving black soldier fly larvae.
• Designing and conducting behavioural or animal experiments.
• Statistical analysis, including mixed-effects models, multivariate analysis or time-series analysis.
• Scientific data processing using R, Python, MATLAB or equivalent software.
• Experience with computer vision and machine learning.

Eligibility condition: To be eligible for this position, you must hold a Master's degree with at least distinction, obtained within the last three years at a university in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Offer

We offer a full-time PhD position with a competitive salary for four years, starting as soon as possible.

You will join a multidisciplinary research project with an operational sensor platform and access to pilot-scale insect-rearing facilities. This allows you to focus on biological research questions from the start, while benefiting from close collaboration with researchers in engineering, insect biology and metabolomics.

You can expect

• Hands-on research: design and conduct experiments using dedicated insect-rearing and sensor facilities.
• Interdisciplinary collaboration: work closely with biologists, engineers and fellow researchers across several research institutions.
• Scientific development: receive guidance and training to develop your research skills and complete your PhD.
• International exposure: present your work at conferences, publish scientific papers and build your professional network.
• Doctoral training: enrol in KU Leuven's Arenberg Doctoral School, which offers a broad programme in scientific and transferable skills. You will work in a young, dynamic and multidisciplinary team that will support you throughout your doctoral research. Your main workplace will be KU Leuven campus Geel. Knowledge of Dutch is not required.

website Insect Production and Processing research group

website Livestock Technology research group

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. Ben Aernouts, mail: ben.aernouts@kuleuven.be or Mr. Maximilian Hoffmann, mail: maximilian.hoffmann@kuleuven.be.

You can apply for this job no later than November 13, 2026 via the online application tool

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