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sqh1

All about Black Soldier Fly

sqh1
18 years ago

Going through my bookmarked sites, I wanted to share this site. It is a fabulous power point presentation all about Black Soldier Fly. This was something I found a few years ago when I was horrified to find these creatures in my bins. After looking at this my opinion changed and I welcome these guys now.

http://www.esrla.com/brazil/frame.htm

Comments (56)

  • swampboogiequeen
    18 years ago

    Sorry to disappoint either of you, but there are clearly two possible explanations for this.

    1. Chuckiebtoo's has produced a mixed breed, resulting in a fly who is unusually short lived, resulting in a supersonic-type flight speed. I believe chuckiebtoo defines this as being "about Mach II" or "at supersonic speed".

    2. Chuckiebtoo himself, enjoys life at a bit of a slower pace with us. This would mean time/relativity speaking, chuckiebtoo may live to be... 142, maybe 150.

    Alright, alright...It's obviously aliens!

  • ariellahavivi
    17 years ago

    Hope I'm not too late and this forum posting is closed to new postings.

    I'm new to this forum but would also like to rear the BSF's. I'm a rancher as well as a gardener so I have a problem with house and biting flies, especially bothering my goats and dogs noses. I'm hoping these flys will control the "bad" flies as well as my composting and poultry piles.

    My dilemma is, I was researching these flies (when I found this site) to grow them to feed to my baby reptiles. How do I grow them and keep them "clean" enough to use some as feeders for my bearded dragons. What clean medium can I give them to eat but yet still be clean.

    Any insight is appreciated,
    Ari

  • wormlover1
    17 years ago

    That presentation on Black soldier flies was fascinating.I would like to try that out. Having lived and worked in Third world countries (Sudan, Thailand)I saw all kinds of possibilities for communal latrines and fish farms. Until there is some kind of incentive in the US, like cities or counties mandating the use of vermicomposting or BSF disposal of putrescent wastes, it will probably always be a hobby, done at the owners expense. In various places in Europe, Germany for instance, recycling is mandatory. There are even recycling police who go around and check your garbage bin to see that you aren't throwing stuff into the trash that should have been recycled. Imagine a situation where you could get a worm bin or BSF unit from your local waste disposal agency and have the cost of it taken off your garbage disposal fee over the course of a year or so at say $10 per month, eventually, when your unit is paid off you would get a garbage disposal rate of $10 less than your non-composting neighbors.

  • bejay9_10
    17 years ago

    That article was very impressive. I do have a "story" however.

    My experience came a few summers ago, when I cleaned out the chicken fertilizer and not wanting to add it to an almost completed compost pile, I put it in a styrofoam cooler - about 3 ft. x 1 ft. in size, and covered it with a piece of plywood. I planned to use it when I made the next compost pile.

    Soon thereafter, I noted a vigorous activity - the larvae from the BSF had taken residence. This was my first introduction to them. I hurried to the web site - did a "Google" and recognized the description of them.

    As I emptied the container into the compost afterward, I did not pursue this form of cultivation.

    Reading the article that you referred to - about the use of a concrete bin - brings up a few questions.

    From the pictures, it appears that the grubs drop out of the container, into a bucket. Are they then released, allowing them to finish their destiny in life, or returned to the bin - would allowing them to drop out on their own be a hazard (birds, etc.?).

    I had several insect stings that summer - and because the BSFs were new to my yard, I assumed that they may have had something to do with it. However, I also raise bees and that also may have been a factor - I felt the bees may have resented the intrusion into their immediate foraging area, and resented it - or I was bitten by a BSF.

    Anyway, since removing the box, and composting the chicken manure, I eliminated the BSF.

    The article goes on to say, that chickens also love to eat the larvae. I know that they are fond of grubs from the compost pile, but as time goes on, there are fewer and fewer beetle-type grubs for them. The thought of utilizing their manure to produce BSF larvae to feed back to them - is certainly a thought for recycling, but as one poster put it - "are they clean enough for ingestion by the chickens?"

    Just my 2 c's. Would appreciate thoughts.

    Bejay

  • bejay9_10
    17 years ago

    rjdog -

    Actually - I'm not one to snicker. I've been "into" this sort of thing - as a lot of us folks are - who keep worm bins, compost piles, bees, chickens, etc., and am very much interested in the whole concept. Besides - I spent a lot of my early years on a farm).

    Although I don't use the manure in my worm bins, I do use it when I build a compost pile or make "manure tea" to feed my established plants and trees.

    But I appreciate your sensitivity, because I still meet people, who think I'm a bit weird about such things as well.

    Venturing into this type of organic recycling can often produce some new situations - that was my introduction to the BSF last summer.

    However, I am still wondering about "catching" the larvae in a bucket, and how best to manage this "windfall." Would you introduce them into a new batch of undigested manure? Perhaps feed them to poultry/fish? If allowed to escape, what would that yield? In other words, why collect them - wouldn't that cut down on the number of adults needed to hatch more larvae, to eat more manure, to - well you know? How to control the adult population so their numbers aren't overwhelming?

    Sorry if that sounds dumb, but also wonder about completing their cycle of reproduction if they aren't allowed into the environment.

    Bejay

  • rjdog
    17 years ago

    You would harvest them for two reasons--- either to feed them to something or to allow them to pupate. They climb because they are looking for a spot out of the poop to pupate & turn into mature flies. They can probably manage this on their own in our small set-ups. The board & bucket thing is for commercial scale production.
    The new larvae that eat the poo, or whatever is rotten and therefor tasty, come from eggs laid by the adults. The adults mate in bushes & other vegetation, apparently. There is actually a journal article on "Lekking behavior in Black Soldier Fly" and it took me the longest time to figure out that "lekking" is professor-speak for courtship and fly nooky. I would venture a guess that since you have flies, you'll continue to have them without much effort. But if you also have chickens--- might as well give them an occassional snack!

  • ccarpio
    16 years ago

    I have a large population of larvae in my bin. I tried drying out the soil to reduce the moisture and taking soil out to prevent densification of soil at the bottom of my bin. It has been a week now and the larvae population is as healthy as ever and my worms are few are far between. Am I ever going to get my worms back? Should I be concerned? Should I be content with a larvae bin???

  • sqh1
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    The larvae are there and thriving because there is lots of decomposing food. The adults will find those decomposing bins/piles and lay their eggs around the perimeter of the bin/pile. The larvae hatch and crawl in to eat the food.
    They are not harmful to anything and are beneficial. The worms will eat that BSF manure and turn it into a more stable composted material.
    What kind of bin and how many worms did you start with?

  • billc-2007
    16 years ago

    I Can hardly believe it. I searched the web on Black soldier fly and that is how I found this site way back when. I enjoyed reading it all over again.
    I have them larve every year in my compost piles, they just love the Zukini squash that grow too big. I would have hundreds of them. But interestingly I only have one or two flying soldier flies around. They fly like a bat out of hell here too Chuck. I can never catch them even if I try. I did not like them in the piles as they would make a very messy ozzy smelly wet spot right in the middle where I put in Zukes. But now I am good with them. I still wonder where do they all go when they hatch out? I have only seen one or two at the most around the piles. They are back and about 3/4" long and very thin. slightly smaller than a yellow jacket or mud dobber. Like a honey bee that wares a size 2 or something like that. I missed that article above so thank for bringing this up again. Bill C

  • sqh1
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    "Where do they all go after they hatch?"
    Once the BSF are adult flies, they only live a few more days. Just long enough to mate and lay eggs. Their party time is in the larval stage.

  • ccarpio
    16 years ago

    I believe I started with 1/4 lb worms and a bin that is 24"x16"x8.75". I've had this been for approx. 6 mos now. I had a lot of worms at one point and my bin was very healthy. Then I started feeding them more food (and wasn't taking out any soil) and that is when the larvae started appearing.

    Recently I tried taking out some of the larvae which helped a bit. My worms are starting to get fatter. But there is still so much larvae that they are crawling all over the worms. But if you say they are harmless I guess I shouldn't have done anything ...

    I believe I do have an overdose of decomposing food in there. I've tried to only feed them coffee and egg shells, intending to speed up the eating rate. Please let me know if this is the right course of action, or if I should just not feed them anything for a while.

    Thanks so much, I appreciate all of this advice! My eco-quartier has such little experience this site is the only thing I can turn to!

  • sqh1
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    You can scoop out many of those larvae and feed them to pond fish, wild birds, and chickens, or put them in an outdoor compost pile.
    They,(BSF),are there because of the food that your worms are not keeping up with.
    1/4 pound of worms is not many, and I would back off feeding. Do not feed until the previous food is almost gone. Feed perhaps 1/2 cup of food at a time.

  • sekiranku
    15 years ago

    I didnt know what BSF was until last night I found them in my compost bin. I am very new at composting not to mention this is my first attempt to start one up after recycling everything in the house and all that was left was food scraps. so when I read all the info here then I was ok with them in my bin. this morning I woke up and I was going to give those guys a nice breakfast and they were all gone. all that was left of them were a couple that werent moving as much as the ones I saw last night. what did I do wrong. what happened?

  • rj_hythloday
    15 years ago

    I thought I'd go ahead and bump this up since there are so many of us that are new to this.

    Another thread on it linked below

    Here is a link that might be useful: Black Soldier Fly

  • onefatgerman
    15 years ago

    I'm curious about the BSF larvae being feed to the Chickens. I have 3 pullets that haven't started producing yet and wonder what effect feeding the larvae to them would have on the eggs?

  • cynthia_h
    15 years ago

    I've resisted posting this link b/c the original article in the newspaper took me by surprise while I was...eating breakfast in late July. But it contains the answers to several questions raised in this thread.

    in el cerrito

    Here is a link that might be useful: Composting with...BSF Larvae

  • chris_chico
    15 years ago

    You can buy the bins now. Quite pricey and certainly not in the price range they mention in the article but still very cool.

    Here is a link that might be useful: BSF composting Biopod

  • takadi
    15 years ago

    I don't understand one thing. If the pupae are collected, how does the larvae population go about reproducing in the bin?

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    You can release a few mature larvae every once in awhile if you think it's needed. I'd suggest releasing at night.

  • rj_hythloday
    15 years ago

    I think he's saying if they self harvest into a seperate cup how do you get the adults to actually lay new eggs in the biopod. I've wondered that myself. The bsf in my bin hatch and must be laying in the bin. Adults fly off every once in a while when I remove the lid. I've recently started to keep the lid off, and a light above since I seem to have no worms I want to discourage any more leaving. I find empty black shells on top of the coir. I don't have any house fly problem in the bin even w/ the lid off since I have so many bsf. I had a real problem w/ house flies early on.

  • mauirose
    15 years ago

    How do you~gulp~harvest the BSF larvae manure?

  • rj_hythloday
    15 years ago

    How do you~gulp~harvest the BSF larvae manure?

    In the worm bin, the worms will harvest it, and make it more stable a vermicompost. If I had a biopod I'd empty the contents into a wormbin every once in a while.

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    If you emptied the contents of the biopod into a worm bin, you'd be introducing a massive population of black soldier fly larvae(BSFL) into a defenseless worm bin. A well maintained worm culture and a culture of BSFL are two different ecosystems. BSFL create too much heat for the worms to be comfortable much less thrive. And BSFL eat the food waste before it gets a chance to decompose. Thus out competing the worm for food.

  • rj_hythloday
    15 years ago

    I was not suggesting dumping the larvae in, that would deplete the population of the biopod. I do not have a bio pod but do have a healthy population of both bsf and ef's in the same bin. The coexist rather nicely.

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    You did say "If I had a biopod I'd empty the contents into a wormbin every once in a while."

    Right now there isn't a tried and true method at separating the "compost" from the larvae.

    My worm bins do house a good population of bsfl at times. But not even close to the population in the bsfl bin. On a cool night the bsfl bin steams.

  • takadi
    15 years ago

    I've been putting stray BSFL into my worm bin due to excess food and I've noticed my earthworm population has exploded. They also used to only hang out in the bottom of the bin but they have since moved up. BSFL poop must be really good eatin

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    Bin in daylight

    Bin at night

    collection bucket

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    I don't think that my system is in anyway comparable to the biopod. I just think that if there is a "cheaper" way to get started then the popularity of BSFL may take off. And in turn bring up the sells of the biopod. I don't think that many people would shell out $150+ for a composting system that they don't know much about. Now that I have some experience with the BSFL, I look forward to purchasing the biopod this next Spring.

  • mauirose
    15 years ago

    What do you do with the larvae?
    What are the pieces of hanging cardboard(?) for?
    Are those airholes drilled along the edge the cardboard cutouts are hanging from?
    What is in the dish in the first photo?
    What is the large cut-out to the right side of the bin in the third picture?
    When you're ready to harvest can you just stop adding food to the bin and wait for the larvae to mature?
    Looks like you cover your bin?, what problems do you forsee with an open bin?

    Very cool idea, thanks for posting pics!

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    What do you do with the larvae?
    I use them for bait. If all goes well, next year I'll purchase a few chickens and use the grubs to feed them.


    What are the pieces of hanging cardboard(?) for?
    The female black soldier fly(BSF) lays her eggs in the holes on the sides of the cardboard. The like to lay there clutch away but near the food source.


    Are those airholes drilled along the edge the cardboard cutouts are hanging from?
    The airholes serve a dual purpose. One, to allow air into the system when the lid is placed on top(when it rains). Two to assist in the hanging of the cardboard nest.


    What is in the dish in the first photo?
    That dish has small holes on the bottom edges. I bait it with food to harvest immature grubs when needed.


    What is the large cut-out to the right side of the bin in the third picture?
    That is to allow the female BSF in the bin to lay her eggs. The hole was made too big and placed too low.


    When you're ready to harvest can you just stop adding food to the bin and wait for the larvae to mature?
    If your talking about the compost, I don't know. I've heard that it is a very good worm food. This is my very first time growing a culture of BSFL. So most of what I'm doing is by trial and error.


    Looks like you cover your bin?, problems do you forsee with an open bin?
    The bin is covered when it rains. When it's covered the bin gets very humid and sides get very wet. That allows the mature larvae to climb the walls and escape through the holes. This lessons the harvest in the collection bucket. The bin seems to be best when used as an open system.


    Very cool idea, thanks for posting pics!
    Thank you, I thought that this may get more people interested in culturing the BSFL

  • mauirose
    15 years ago

    Thanks so much for answering all my questions ; )

    I might try a bin in a few weeks. I have worms but they are sloooow. Can i push my luck and ask one more question? How do you manage the moisture levels at the bottom of the bin-some type of drain maybe? or isn't it a problem?

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    The lower I dig into the bin the wetter it gets. Once it got drenched when I didn't have it covered during a rain storm and they still survived. There are several eighth inch drain holes on the bottom.

  • mndtrp
    15 years ago

    From what I understand, it will take a long time to get any measurable amount of compost out of it. Personally, I would use this mostly for what the worm bin couldn't handle easily, meat and whatnot.

    If I have a lid over the collection bin, will the mature flies just die? I have no use for them, and don't really want them flying around my garage/house.

    Do they have to have a fairly constant supply of food?

    Will they consume grass/leaves/paper if I don't have anything else to give them?

  • vermiman
    15 years ago

    If I have a lid over the collection bin, will the mature flies just die? I have no use for them, and don't really want them flying around my garage/house.
    The mature larvae when kept in a closed container will remain as larvae for awhile. I've had some stored in a container for quite awhile and they have not turned to flies yet. They are not a nuisance like the dreaded house fly. They only live a couple of days as flies. They live to breed and lay eggs then die. Most of their life is spent as larvae. They have no workable mouth-parts. So they don't scavenge for food like the house fly. I've released thousands of mature larvae and have only seen a maximum of five Black Soldier Flies at a time. And I've only seen them around the BSFL bin.

    Do they have to have a fairly constant supply of food?
    Mature larvae loose their mouth parts and replace it as a digger therefore they do not eat.

    Will they consume grass/leaves/paper if I don't have anything else to give them?
    No, those are three things that I believe they don't consume. I raise rabbits, so my grubs receive rabbit manure along with scraps.

  • ladybug2u2
    15 years ago

    For a 'clean' media for your BSFs use cabbage. They are attracted to the aroma of rotting cabbage I learned. I set my bins up with cheap potting soil and use green leafy vegetables from the kitchen as a starter. I use my BSF bins for a specific purpose and they do a fantastic job. Yeah, I know, you want me to tell you what I use them for, ....right? I am a seed collector and they do a fantastic job of cleaning the juicy pulp right off the seeds I place in a bowl in the bin with them and that is without almost a trace of odor. I did several hundred palm seeds and in about a week, it was over and done with. Perfectly cleaned seeds!!

    On the flying dilemma...this is what I have learned from my bins. If an adult BSF is barely buzzing,...it is one that has recently emerged from pupa stage. After a day or so, it can really zip around.

  • seamommy
    15 years ago

    When I first noticed the BSFL in my worm bins a couple years ago they scared me and I found this thread and have let them go ahead and live there. Not only do they complement the bin and help the worms, but they have maintained a steady population for nearly two years. My worms have thrived and multiplied several times. I no longer have to go through the compost and pick them out before using it in the garden. Worms go where the BSFL are, near the top and very few are hanging out down in lower levels of the bin. Harvesting the compost is much simpler now.

    The adult BSF seem to lay their eggs and then vamoose. My bins are in the garage so they always have a way to get outdoors. I rarely find their little carcasses on the garage floor. You gotta respect the little guys and if one of them occasionally flies near my face it really doesn't bother me.

    Cheryl

  • owlhollow
    15 years ago

    I don't like the soldier flies in my worm bin- they give me the creeps. I have found that keeping the bins a little drier will eliminate them. This info is for those who don't want them. On the other hand they do keep house flies away- they really do, so I like having them in my composting toilet barrels. I had to get rid of my commercial composting toilet that was in the house because I couldn't keep them out of it and they do migrate out as they mature- not a good thing in the house. I have never had a problem with them flying at me.
    owl

  • joe.jr317
    15 years ago

    I'm glad I found this thread. I think I will be making a bin, too. If for no other reason, curiosity and something for my kids to study for biology (homeschooling kids gives you more reason to do cool stuff).

  • joe.jr317
    15 years ago

    I also found vermimans posting on redwormcomposting.com. Another individual on there commented on his design in a way I think can be overcome easily.

    Apparently the "crawl off rate", the rate at which the larva crawl off, is diminished severely by the tubes being so specific to one point. The biobin allows a lot more opportunity for larva to find a way to the exit.

    Vermiman, if you're still following this thread, have you thought about cutting the top half of the tubes off and putting a sheet of plastic, or better yet a flat piece of wood, along the sides of the "ramp" so that they reach down to the larva all along the tube? This would allow more access area by a longshot and I bet it would be just as good as the biobin. You could increase the ramp access area by several hundred percent.

  • boreal_wormer
    15 years ago

    There's a good long thread about one individual's experiences with a homemade bin and then a BioPod. They also have a blog at:

    http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/

    Here is a link that might be useful: Pond Boss forum

  • rockydoc
    14 years ago

    Composting Earthworms eat paper, cardboard, leaves, etc Do BSFL eat these cellulosic items?

  • takadi
    14 years ago

    I find BSFL tend to go for the "stinky" types of food, like proteins or carbohydrates.

  • audior1_yahoo_com
    12 years ago

    I use them in composting Porta Potti's and do get the fly to eat toilet paper as I rake the toilet paper to the middle when it build up and then drop some more poop on top. The flies eat everything. I clean the toilets out after several months by adding water to make a slurry and dump the contents flies and all into a pile of compost. I save a shovel full of larvae to reinoculate the empty toilet by starting them off in some horse manure compost and the toilet is ready for use. No smell like a chemical toilet, no other flies. I do leave the toilet door a little open to allow the adult flies to escape. They fly slow in cold weather or when first hatched but do zip around on their second day or on hot days. Very tame, no threat what-so-ever. Make great Humanure
    ready for the worms to finish off.

  • acidophilus
    12 years ago

    audior1, I guess you're in one 7, with cold winters. how do the bsf's manage in the cold? slow down? do you provide warmth? do they continue to 'do the job' ?

  • acidophilus
    12 years ago

    audior1, I guess you're in one 7, with cold winters. how do the bsf's manage in the cold? slow down? do you provide warmth? do they continue to 'do the job' ?

  • tachenk
    10 years ago

    Hi... I am from Indonesia. I have raised BSF in my country for 8 months and have two problems which my bin was sometime over heat by fermentation and my larvae always try to migrate through the drainage not their ramp way. Could u please inform me how to solve my problems? Thanks in advance....

  • boreal_wormer
    10 years ago

    Hi it would help if you provides details about your bin. Also you might have better luck asking at a BSFL site like the BlackSoldierFlyBlog (link) or BlackSoldierFlyFarming (link)

  • Boukmn
    10 years ago

    These BSFs are amazing! Can't believe I never encountered this subject before. BSFs actually [i]DO[/i] what vermiculturists dream that their worms could...directly get rid of the garbage.

    I just had another gross, scary use for BSFL... they might be medical applications for them in the selective removal of necrotic tissue in humans. When I was young, I heard wounded soldiers in the American war on Vietnam would let maggots of some flies stay in their necrotic wounds till they could be evacuated to a real hospital.

    The maggots only ate the necrotic tissue, not the fresh flesh. They produced chemicals that killed narcotizing bacteria thus preventing gangrene from spreading. The maggots also prevented other more dangerous flesh eating fly larvae from infesting the wound.

    I wonder, could these flies from the American war on Vietnam were be soldier flies? I wonder...is this why we call them 'soldier' flies?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Black Soldier Fly and Red Worm Bioconversion

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