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

KU Leuven; Belgique; On-site; EUR 26,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

KU Leuven seeks a highly motivated PhD candidate to study black soldier fly larval behaviour under varied rearing conditions at the Geel campus, collaborating with engineering, insect biology and metabolomics teams. The project is part of EntoBOOST, funded through FWO, and aims to advance precision insect farming with robust biological insights.

You will own the biological questions, perform statistical analyses, and work closely with an interdisciplinary team across KU Leuven and partner

Qualifications

• Master's degree in biology, biosciences, bioscience engineering, or animal sciences or equivalent.
• Interest in biology and data analysis for interdisciplinary research.
• Strong written and oral English communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Design and conduct experiments to study larval behaviour under different rearing conditions.
• Analyse behavioural data with the engineering team and extract relevant features.
• Link behavioural patterns to growth, survival, and production performance using statistics.
• Collaborate with Antwerp researchers to relate behavioural data to metabolic markers.
• Publish findings in international journals and present at conferences.

Skills

Biology background

Data science interest

English communication

Ethology interest

Education

Master's degree in biology/biosciences/bioscience engineering/animal sciences

Job description

Organisation/Company KU LEUVEN Research Field Biological sciences » Biology Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Application Deadline 13 Nov 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Offer Starting Date 1 Dec 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Reference Number BAP-2026-627 Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

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:

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.

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).

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. For more information please contact Prof. dr. Ben Aernouts, mail: [e-mail] or Mr. Maximilian Hoffmann, mail: [e-mail] .

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.

Eligibility criteria

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).