Objective To establish a UAS-Irk3-EGFP transgenic Drosophila line, provide a standardised procedure for the construction and characterization of transgenic Drosophila lines, support functional studies of the inwardly rectifying potassium channel (Irk) 3 gene in Drosophila, and enrich national Drosophila resources. Methods Using PCR technology, coding sequence (CDS) of Irk3 gene was amplified from Drosophila cDNA library. The sequence was then cloned together with the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP ) gene into pUAST-attB vector via homologous recombination. By microinjection, the recombinant plasmid was injected into embryos of attP-25C6 Drosophila line. Transgenic red-eyed flies expressing UAS-Irk3-EGFP were screened by red eye phenotype, followed by background purification and balanced preservation by crossing with balancer flies. Finally, correctness was verified by PCR amplification and immunofluorescence staining of wing imaginal discs. Results The pUAST-attB-Irk3-EGFP recombinant plasmid was constructed, and the UAS-Irk3-EGFP transgenic Drosophila line was successfully obtained. PCR amplification results confirmed that the Irk 3-EGFP gene sequence was successfully integrated into the genome of the transgenic flies. Immunostaining experiment of wing imaginal discs showed that MS1096-GAL4, which was specifically expressed in the wing pouch, could drive Irk3 gene expression in the wing pouch of the wing imaginal disc, and hh-GAL4, which was specifically expressed in the posterior compartment, could drive target gene expression in the posterior compartment of the wing imaginal disc. Conclusion The UAS-Irk3-EGFP transgenic Drosophila line is successfully established, laying a foundation for in-depth studies of Irk3 gene function using galectin-4 (GAL4)/upstream activating sequence （UAS) gene expression regulation system.

In recent years, research on the electron microscopy connectome of Drosophila melanogaster has achieved major breakthroughs, providing neural circuit maps with synaptic resolution across the whole brain. This review outlines the development history of Drosophila electron microscopy connectome databases from local brain region reconstruction to comprehensive whole-brain mapping, and highlights their role in addressing three core problems in neural circuit research field: in terms of sensory information encoding, the visual system is used as an example to reveal mechanisms of motion detection and color processing; in terms of behavioral decision-making, the circuit basis underlying female mating and egg-laying choices is elucidated; and in terms of motor control, the neural mechanisms underlying courtship song pattern generation in males are analyzed. These advances reveal the relationship between structural connectivity and functional specialization, as well as mechanisms of hierarchical integration and parallel-hierarchical control of information, greatly deepening our understanding of the "structure-function" relationship in neural circuits. At the end of this article, the potential applications of electron microscope connectomes in areas such as cross-species comparison, whole-brain dynamic network modeling, and computation-experiment integration are discussed. These explorations help promote a paradigm revolution in neuroscience from local speculation to precise whole-brain analysis, provide technical templates and theoretical anchor points for connectome research in complex organisms, build a research bridge between basic neural circuits and human neurological diseases, offer biological prototypes for brain-inspired intelligent computing, and provide important insights for exploring the evolutionary laws and working mechanisms of the nervous system.

Transposable elements (TEs) are mobile DNA sequences in genomes that play key roles in species evolution, genome stability, and gene regulation. Drosophila melanogaster, as a classic model animal with TEs accounting for approximately 20% of its genome, is an ideal model for studying biological characteristics, host defense mechanisms, and functional evolution of TEs, and also provides an important paradigm for understanding mechanisms of TE-related diseases in higher organisms and even humans. This review systematically elucidates the classification and distribution characteristics of TEs in D. melanogaster and their dynamic interactions with host genome, focusing on the host defense system centered on PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway. Then, the biological characteristics of key TE families (such as Gypsy, Copia, P-element, and I-element) in D. melanogaster and their dual roles in genomic evolution are analyzed in detail. On the one hand, TE insertions can cause genomic instability, heterozygous sterility, and aging phenotypes, providing a model basis for studying related human diseases (e.g., neurodegenerative diseases, genomic instability syndromes, etc.). On the other hand, their sequences can be co-opted by the host to create novel regulatory elements or functional genes, thereby driving adaptive innovation. Finally, the future research directions of TEs are proposed, including regulation of TE activity by environmental stress, interaction between piRNA pathways and other small RNA systems, as well as regulatory effects of TEs in the occurrence and development of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. The research on TEs in D. melanogaster not only deepens understanding of TE biology, but also provides a key theoretical basis and important inspiration for studying human diseases using experimental animal models, as well as for developing gene therapy and gene editing technologies.

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease caused by long-term imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, which can significantly increase risks of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, various cancers, and premature aging. The latest WHO statistics show that global overweight and obesity rates among adults continue to rise, making obesity a public health problem requiring urgent precise prevention and control. This review systematically summarizes the unique value and application advances of Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism in obesity and metabolic disease research. Due to its short life cycle, low rearing cost, high homology with human disease-related genes, conserved organ functions, and well-developed genetic tools, Drosophila has emerged as an efficient model organism for analyzing obesity and metabolic disorders. Feeding high-sugar/high-fat diets to Drosophila can stably replicate typical obesity-related phenotypes such as lipid accumulation, insulin resistance, impaired cardiometabolic function, and shortened lifespan, and can be combined with tissue- or cell type–specific genetic manipulations for target discovery and mechanism verification. At the organ level, the fat body functions as a central hub for energy storage, metabolic sensing, and endocrine regulation; oenocytes participate in lipid, sterol, and very-long-chain fatty acid metabolism and starvation response; the midgut integrates signals from nutrients and gut microbiota through regionalized absorption and enteroendocrine functions; the malpighian tubules, besides excretion, also regulate reabsorption and influence body size through energy sensing pathways and glucose transporter membrane localization. Muscles are the primary energy-consuming organs in Drosophila with flight muscles exhibiting the highest energy demand. They primarily utilize trehalose and glucose from the hemolymph for energy supply. Additionally, they can mobilize glycogen and fatty acids to participate in energy metabolism. Additionally, circadian rhythm and feeding time (such as time-restricted feeding) can reshape peripheral clock-metabolism coupling, alleviating diet-induced metabolic disorders. Moreover, they regulate systemic metabolic homeostasis through myogenic factors.In cross-organ endocrine regulatory network, brain insulin-like peptide producing cells secrete insulin-like peptides to lower blood sugar and promote metabolic balance, whereas the corpora cardiaca release adipokinetic hormone to increase blood sugar and stimulate lipolysis. These two endocrine systems functionally antagonize each other, together forming a key metabolic homeostasis regulatory axis in Drosophila. Fat body and intestine regulate insulin-like peptide secretion according to nutritional status by releasing Unpaired 2, Limostatin, and adiponectin-like factors, forming a multi-level "gut-fat body-brain-peripheral organ" feedback loop. In summary, Drosophila, with its highly conserved organ functions and metabolic pathways and its powerful genetic tools, provides an efficient and scalable experimental platform for analyzing obesity etiology, elucidating cross-tissue signaling networks, discovering potential translational targets, and evaluating nutritional/pharmacological intervention strategies.

Taking the corpora cardiaca (CC) of Drosophila melanogaster as the central focus, this review establishes a four-dimensional framework of "development-secretion-regulation-function" to systematically summarize the core role of CC in glucose metabolic homeostasis. Drosophila has a mature genetic toolkit and high gene homology with humans, making it an ideal model for studying energy balance. CC and insulin-producing cells (IPCs) correspond to vertebrate pancreatic α/β cells respectively, jointly regulating hemolymph glucose and trehalose concentrations through adipokinetic hormone (AKH) and Drosophila insulin-like peptides (DILPs). This review first discusses developmental process of CC: it originates from head mesoderm, undergoes embryonic specification, larval expansion, pupal remodeling, and adult fusion, ultimately forming a bilobed organ surrounding the esophagus. Genes and signaling pathways such as sine oculis, glass, Notch, dpp, and hh control this process in a strict spatiotemporal pattern, and a mutation at any node can cause CC absence or functional defects. CC can receive external regulation, integrating multiple inputs including nutrients and brain-gut secretory factors. During starvation, cell-surface glucose sensors directly sense hypoglycaemia and increase AKH secretion. Enteroendocrine cells exert positive/negative feedback on CC through peptides such as allatostatin A (AstA), bursicon α, and neuropeptide F (NPF). Brain dopamine (DA), pigment-dispersing factor (PDF), and DILP1/2 form neuroendocrine antagonism to precisely regulate AKH release. The CC mainly secretes three types of molecules: AKH mobilizes glycogen and triacylglycerol in the fat body via the adipokinetic hormone receptor (AKHR)-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-protein kinase A (PKA) pathway. Limostatin (Lst) inhibits DILP secretion from IPCs via its receptor. Insulin antagonist protein 2 (imaginal morphogenesis protein-late 2, ImpL2) antagonizes DILPs and inhibits the target of rapamycin (TOR) pathway, thereby coupling nutritional status with developmental process. The AKH/AKHR axis drives sugar/lipid mobilization and foraging hyperactivity under starvation, high-fat, or heat stress. Prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) and ImpL2 mediate CC–prothoracic gland axis to ensure timely ecdysone release after the critical weight. CC axons innervate the crop, regulating emptying rate. AKH-forkhead box O (FoxO)-small ventral lateral neurons (s-LNv) circuit inhibits starvation-induced sleep loss, maintaining circadian homeostasis. This review summarizes the developmental mechanisms of CC, action mechanisms of secreted hormones, and interactions with other tissues, which not only helps scholars understand regulatory mechanisms of insect energy homeostasis, but also provides novel perspectives and targets for research on metabolic disorders and related diseases in invertebrates.

Drosophila， as a classic model organism， exhibits high evolutionary conservation with mammals in molecular regulatory networks， signal pathway transduction， and cell fate determination mechanisms involved in its organ development. Focusing on major organs of Drosophila including dorsal vessel （homologous to the mammalian heart）， fat body and oenocytes （liver）， Malpighian tubules and nephrocytes （kidney）， and tracheal system （lung）， this study deeply analyzes conservative characteristics in core regulatory pathways， key gene functions， and cellular behavioral patterns during organogenesis between Drosophila and mammals through multi-dimensional comparative analysis， clarifying the homologous basis of their developmental mechanisms. Integrating specific research examples， it further elaborates the application value of Drosophila in constructing models for human cardiovascular diseases， metabolic disorders， kidney diseases， and respiratory diseases， as well as its unique role in high-throughput screening of drug targets， analysis of disease pathogenic mechanisms， and improvement of the theoretical system of evolutionary developmental biology. The evolutionary conservation of core developmental regulatory mechanisms between Drosophila and mammals has built a key bridge from basic developmental research to human disease translation， providing important theoretical support and a technical platform for in-depth analysis of the molecular mechanisms of complex human diseases and development of novel therapeutic strategies， and holding great significance for promoting interdisciplinary integration of developmental biology and translational medicine.

Mitochondria, as the energy metabolism center of cells, have abnormal dynamic morphology and oxidative phosphorylation function, which are directly related to aging and various diseases. Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) is a widely used model animal. This article systematically summarizes the experimental methods for analyzing mitochondrial morphology and function at multiple scales in the laboratory using C. elegans as a model, mainly including: (1) morphological qualitative analysis, which uses a single-blind manual classification method (such as point, rod, and mesh), although it relies on subjective experience, it is easy to operate and suitable for preliminary phenotype screening; (2) morphological quantitative analysis, which relies on the Fiji/ImageJ platform for automated parameter extraction of mitochondria in specific tissues (such as epidermis and body wall muscles), quantifies network connectivity (number of branch points, network length) through skeletonization algorithm, and calculates fragmentation indices (such as area/perimeter ratio, fragment count) with binarization analysis, achieving objective phenotype comparison; (3) high-throughput image processing, which performs batch processing through macro commands, integrates morphological filtering, threshold segmentation, and parameter export workflow, significantly improving research efficiency for large sample sizes; (4) metabolic function monitoring, which uses the Seahorse XF analyzer to measure in vivo respiratory metabolism in C. elegans. By sequential injection of ATP synthase inhibitor N, N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD), uncoupling agent carbonyl cyanide-4-(trifluoromethoxy) phenylhydrazone (FCCP) and respiratory chain inhibitor sodium azide (NaN3), the basal oxygen consumption rate (OCR), ATP coupled respiratory efficiency, and maximum respiratory capacity (respiratory potential) are accurately analyzed to reveal energy metabolism patterns. This article integrates a dual dimensional approach of morphology and function, which not only provides empirical techniques for mitochondrial research on C. elegans, but also extends its framework to mammalian cell and organoid models, promoting the basic research and drug development targeting mitochondria.

With the acceleration of population aging in China, the number of patients with degenerative diseases has exceeded ten million, urgently requiring efficient mechanism research and drug screening systems. Caenorhabditis elegans, due to its short life cycle, low cost, and convenient genetic manipulation, has become an important model organism for investigating neurodegenerative diseases. Through heterologous expression of amyloid β-protein (Aβ), α-synuclein (α-Syn), mutant superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), etc., or constructing mutants using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9, CRISPR/Cas9), typical pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington's disease (HD) can be reproduced in Caenorhabditis elegans. By integrating RNA interference (RNAi) and compound screening, the Caenorhabditis elegans model has revealed core pathological pathways such as proteostasis, autophagy, and mitochondrial function, and identified multiple potential targets. In the future, relying on the unique strengths of Caenorhabditis elegans in genetic operability, phenotypic quantification, and screening scale, combined with cross-species validation using multiple models, a more predictive and translatable degenerative disease research and intervention system is expected to be established.

Understanding the origins of animal diversity and their adaptive evolutionary mechanisms is one of the core issues in modern biology. Animal traits such as morphology, coloration, and behavior are shaped synergistically by the species' genetics and development as well as environmental factors, and their interaction mechanisms have long received extensive attention in laboratory animal science. Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), due to their wide distribution, diverse wing patterns, short life cycles, and ease of laboratory rearing, have become important model organisms for studying animal evolution. This review introduces the structure and function of butterfly wings, and summarizes important progress in adaptive evolution research in recent years. To further understand the diversity of butterfly wing patterns, this review also discusses the relevant mechanisms. In recent years, to reveal adaptive evolution patterns of multiple complex traits, research on butterfly mimicry and its genetic mechanisms, seasonal morphs, phenotypic plasticity, as well as environmental perception and interactions is continuously advancing. This review summarizes current main research systems and directions at genetic, developmental, and evolutionary levels of butterflies, including classic systems of adaptive evolution in various butterfly taxa, for example: Doublesex and related genes determine female-specific Batesian mimicry in Papilio. Changes in regulatory elements of the optix gene drive convergent evolution of wing patterns among different species in Heliconius, providing molecular-level direct evidence for revealing evolutionary mechanism of Müllerian mimicry. Taking Kallima as an example, its leaf mimicry is controlled by a genomic region containing the cortex gene. Besides mimicry traits, phenotypic plasticity of dry and rainy season morphs in butterflies is also summarized, among which Junonia coenia and Bicyclus anynana are classic models for studying environmental adaptation and developmental plasticity. In addition, butterflies are important systems for studying complex organism–environment interactions, including visual perception and color recognition mechanisms in Papilio xuthus, coevolution with host plants in Pieris rapae, and mechanisms related to long-distance migration and warning coloration in Danaus plexippus. This review reveals the research trend toward integrating multi-omics data (such as pangenome, single-cell transcriptome, etc.) to analyze gene regulatory networks in butterfly evolution studies. Prospects for butterfly research are also provided from perspectives of technological development and research direction expansion, offering new ideas for animal evolution research. In summary, butterfly research system has developed into a new interdisciplinary paradigm integrating genetics, development, environmental interactions and behavioral simulation. This paradigm not only deepens our understanding of biological adaptive evolution patterns, but also provides an extensible research framework, promoting integration and innovation between evolutionary biology and ecological conservation, engineering applications, and physiological disorders.

Harpegnathos saltator (H. saltator) is a eusocial insect with highly plastic social behaviors, exhibiting a unique phenotype of caste reversibility. Unlike traditional social ants, when workers of H. saltator lose queen suppression, they can transform into gamergates through a series of behavioral, neural, and physiological reprogramming, and this transition is reversible. Therefore, H. saltator has become an important model for studying caste establishment and maintenance, behavioral regulation, and lifespan plasticity. Benefiting from innovations in omics and imaging technologies, research on H. saltator has achieved groundbreaking progress in recent years. During social caste transition, individuals exhibit highly dynamic and plastic changes in behavioral performance, neural activity, endocrine status, and gene expression levels, revealing how environmental signals are integrated into stable phenotypic reprogramming. In terms of lifespan regulation, H. saltator shows a phenomenon contradicting the "reproduction-lifespan trade-off" hypothesis: reproductive individuals have significantly extended lifespans. Related studies reveal multiple molecular mechanisms including telomere maintenance, epigenetic remodeling, proteostasis regulation, and insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway bifurcation, providing new perspectives for aging and longevity research. At the level of social chemical communication and neural perception, the olfactory system of H. saltator shows remarkable evolution, particularly the expansion of the odorant receptors (OR) gene family, which provides a molecular basis for group interaction and caste maintenance. Studies on neuropeptides and hormone regulatory pathways also reveal close links between caste and behavioral states. With the introduction of various cutting-edge tools such as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR-associated nuclease 9), genetically encoded calcium indicator imaging based on green fluorescent protein (GFP), calmodulin, and M13 peptide (GCaMP imaging), and assay for transposase accessible chromatin with high-throughput sequencing (ATAC-seq), researchers can conduct more precise analyses of neural activity, gene regulation, and chromatin accessibility. Application of these tools not only promotes in-depth research on social behaviors and neural mechanisms of H. saltator, but also provides novel approaches for cross-species comparison. Overall, the research framework of H. saltator covers social behavior, caste regulation, lifespan extension mechanisms, as well as gene expression and epigenetic reprogramming. By integrating multi-omics and functional experiments, researchers are progressively constructing a systematic map of social plasticity and longevity mechanisms of this species. These findings not only deepen our understanding of behavioral and lifespan regulation in social insects but also provide potential targets and a theoretical basis for human anti-aging research.

Mosquito-borne diseases (such as malaria, dengue fever, Zika virus disease, and Chikungunya) pose major threats to global public health, while traditional control methods based on chemical pesticides face severe challenges including enhanced drug resistance in vector mosquitoes and environmental pollution. Genetic control strategies have become high-potential alternative solutions for mosquito control due to their species specificity and environmental friendliness. Gene drive technology uses gene editing tools such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated nuclease 9 (Cas9) to enable specific genes to efficiently spread in target mosquito populations through "super-Mendelian inheritance", offering a revolutionary strategy for the prevention and control of mosquito-borne diseases. This review systematically summarizes key advances, core challenges, and response strategies of gene drive technology in this field. Research advances: (1) In Anopheles malaria vectors, population suppression drives targeting sex determination genes or female reproductive genes can cause female sterility or skewed sex ratios to achieve population suppression. Population replacement gene drive strategies targeting host genes associated with Plasmodium infection or delivering anti-Plasmodium effector molecules in Anopheles can effectively block pathogen transmission. (2) In Aedes mosquito vectors of arboviruses, targeting female flight-essential genes achieves population suppression, and coupling of antiviral effector systems with drive elements is explored. Optimized split gene drive strategies demonstrate high cutting and recombination efficiency, and models predict safe and controllable spread of disease-resistance traits. (3) In Culex mosquitoes transmitting lymphatic filariasis, homology drive elements are integrated into two genes involved in the eye pigment synthesis pathway, allowing clear visualization of gene drive efficiency through eye color. Core Challenges: technological challenges include low homologous recombination repair efficiency, non-homologous end joining repair causing resistance allele generation, CRISPR/Cas9 off-target effects, and species adaptation differences. Ecological and safety challenges involve gene pool pollution caused by accidental spread of drive elements, potential ecological balance impacts, and long-term irreversible risks. Response strategies and prospects: employing multiplex guide RNA (gRNA) targeting strategies to enhance drive stability and combat potential resistance. Developing reversible designs such as synthetic resistance, reversal drives, and immunizing reversal drives as "genetic brakes". Establishing long-term ecological monitoring systems and mathematical modeling for risk assessment. Exploring "environmentally responsive drives" to enhance controllability. Future research should continuously optimize drive efficiency and specificity, deepen ecological risk evaluation, strengthen international cooperation, and promote ethical consensus and regulatory framework construction, with the aim of making gene drive technology a sustainable prevention and control strategy to address the global health challenge of mosquito-borne diseases under the premise of safety and controllability.

With the deepening advancement of microbiome research and the rapid development of precision medicine, the search for ideal research models has become a key factor in promoting the development of related fields. Although traditional mammalian models, such as mice, are widely used, their complex gut microbiome, significant individual differences, high breeding costs, and long experimental cycles constrain, to some extent, the conduct of high-throughput studies requiring clearly defined mechanisms. Against this background, germ-free bees, as an emerging biomedical research model, are increasingly receiving attention. As social insects, bees possess not only a short life cycle and rapid reproduction, but also a relatively simple and stable gut microbiota structure, and can be reared and maintained on a large scale under germ-free conditions. These unique biological advantages make germ-free bees a high-quality model for investigating host-microbe interactions, immune regulation, metabolic mechanisms, and neurobehavioral connections, demonstrating significant potential in areas including disease mechanism analysis, drug development, and microbiome function research. This article systematically elaborates on the construction methods, core biological characteristics, and specific applications of the germ-free bee model in biomedical research, objectively analyzes the current technical bottlenecks and ethical challenges faced by the model, and provides an outlook on its future development directions in interdisciplinary studies. This paper, for the first time, systematically sorts out the research progress from four dimensions—"model construction", "applications and advantages", "current challenges", and "future prospects", and comprehensively integrates the findings. It not only offers important technical and theoretical references for researchers in related fields, but also underscores the model's unique value in promoting basic biology towards translational medical applications, providing positive guiding significance for its standardized development and in-depth exploration.

The American cockroach (Periplaneta americana), as a representative species of Blattodea and one of the most ancient extant insect groups, is gradually developing from a public-health pest into an emerging experimental animal model in developmental biology and regenerative medicine, due to its remarkable environmental adaptability, fecundity, developmental plasticity, and high sensitivity to RNA interference (RNAi). This review aims to systematically integrate the latest research advances in biological characteristics, genomic resources, developmental regulatory mechanisms, and application value of P. americana, to expand its application potential in basic research and translational medicine, elucidating following aspects: (1) Biological traits of P. americana and its standardized laboratory rearing protocols are outlined, laying a foundation for its use as a stable experimental model. (2) Analysis results of high-quality genome sequencing are elaborated, revealing evolutionary characteristics of repeat sequence-driven expansion and association between significant expansion of metabolism and stress response gene families and their strong environmental adaptation. (3) In developmental biology, the review summarizes how dynamic balance between 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and juvenile hormone (JH) governs molting and metamorphic plasticity, how insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) pathway and target of rapamycin complex 1 (TORC1) pathway integrate nutritional signals to regulate developmental rate, and how JH precisely coordinates efficient reproduction regulatory network through multiple mechanisms. (4) The exceptional limb regeneration capacity of P. americana and synergistic effects of conserved pathways and novel regulatory factors behind it are detailed. (5) Concerning environmental adaptation mechanisms, the significant expansion of detoxification-related gene families and innate immune pathways, and JH-mediated sexually dimorphic stress response characteristics are highlighted. (6) The application value of P. americana in traditional drug development (e.g., Kangfuxin Liquid) and precise allergen diagnostics is discussed, and future research directions are prospected. Although technical challenges such as insufficient genetic manipulation tools exist, through deep integration of multi-omics technologies and development of gene-editing tools, P. americana model is expected to play a more significant role in revealing developmental plasticity, regeneration mechanisms, and new targets for pest control.

The black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens L.), a globally distributed resource insect native to the tropical regions of the Americas, has become stably established in several regions of China, such as Guangdong and Hainan Provinces, through both natural dispersal and human-mediated introduction. In recent years, owing to its strong environmental adaptability, high resource conversion efficiency, and prominent value in ecology and biological resources, as well as its remarkable advantages in organic waste conversion and high-value bioproduct development, it has emerged as a research hotspot in the field of biological resources. This paper first outlines the biological characteristics and geographical distribution of Hermetia illucens L., clarifying its research basis and resource potential. Subsequently, its efficient and stable breeding system and rearing substrate optimization techniques are introduced, which provide technical support for standardized breeding and growth performance improvement. Further, this paper systematically reviews the medical and health application potential of bioactive components derived from Hermetia illucens L., with a focus on active substances extracted from its larvae and pupae, such as antimicrobial peptides, functional fatty acids, chitosan, and protein hydrolysates, which exhibit broad-spectrum antibacterial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and good biocompatibility. It comprehensively elaborates on the application research progress on the application of these bioactive components of Hermetia illucens L. in fields such as prevention and treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, cancer chemoprevention, tissue repair, and cosmeceuticals for acne care. Moreover, this paper elucidates the advantages of Hermetia illucens L. as a novel invertebrate laboratory animal model, highlighting its high productivity, controllable growth patterns, and suitability for in-depth individual research. It also explores its unique value in fundamental medical research, such as host-microbe interactions and endogenous virus evolution, providing an interdisciplinary research platform that bridges evolutionary biology, microbial ecology, immunology, and preventive medicine. Finally, the paper analyzes the technical bottlenecks faced in the current research and industrialization process of Hermetia illucens L., and reviews and prospects product development strategies, interdisciplinary integration, and clinical translation directions, aiming to offer a systematic reference for the in-depth development and efficient utilization of this resource.