Black Soldier Fly larvae raised with grain

[Jonas2714]

swimming in the pool

[canaress]

i really like the video i have some mantis and i live in a place were there is no worms in pet stores. what you did to get all this maggots? flies lay eggs and dead body for the maggots. can yo please show me how to do.

[Blackrosereaper]

That looks like fun... i must submerge my hands in soldier fly maggots one day... looks like they tickle :D

[Jonsgirl4everr]

Ew ur gross, y would u touch them?!!!!!! o_O

[BlackSoldierFly]

@Jonsgirl4everr These were raised under controlled circumstances where they were fed good clean food. Black soldier flies are not vectors of human disease so handling them is relatively safe. Of course their poo is in there, but if you have handled earthworms then you have also handled poo. BSF have been shown to control bacteria so I feel safe with normal hand washing after handling them. Something like this is only gross if you don't understand it.

[cfuse]

@BlackSoldierFly I was under the impression that the risk of handling BSF is primarily getting eggs on your hands and accidentally ingesting them. BSF can colonise the human gut under certain circumstances. That isn't something you want to have happen (especially when it is so easily avoided).

[RaeperFawks]

Why do you raise these?

[BlackSoldierFly]

@RaeperFawks 1.Super fast way to break down kitchen scraps without dumping them into the landfill. 2. Super nutritious feed that a wide variety of animals eagerly eat including reptiles, poultry, amphibians, fish, and many mammals. 3.Super cool to watch them; like an ant farm only better. :)

[RaeperFawks]

@BlackSoldierFly Damn that's awesome

[ImperialGeckos]

How do you raise BSFL on solely grain? Where do you buy the "grain" and what type do you use? I have tried googling it but found myself with no results.

Thanks!

-Alex

[BlackSoldierFly]

@ImperialGeckos BSF larvae can be raised on almost anything. They eat anything that people eat and also manure. I was using a cornmeal base hog feed in this project, but it could be plain corn, wheat, rice, etc. I only used this cheap form of cornmeal ($8/50lbs) because I wasn't generating enough kitchen scraps. Since that time I've found free sources of wasted food from neighbors and a farmer's market so I only supplement with the cornmeal. Whatever you feed the BSF it should be moist.

[ImperialGeckos]

@BlackSoldierFly Thank You for your reply!

I am in Miami, Fl and i want to get started on raising my own BSFL for my reptiles. So if i use a grain only diet, i would have to add like fruits and veggies wth high water content (potatoes, apples, cucumbers, lettuce) correct?

Is there a website i can go learn more about raising my own BSFL.

Thanks,

Alex

[BlackSoldierFly]

@ImperialGeckos Alex, all you need to do is to soak the grain in water. If it gets too dry just add more water. You can also add kitchen scraps if you like. The food needs to be maintained at about 70% moisture or more. You can see what I've posted on my blog; I think the url is in the video description.

[Care4URchameleon]

@ImperialGeckos Can any body ship me some flies or larvae that will pupate? The phoinex worms that I buy from the main source never pupate. I believe they radiate them so their buyers cannot breed their own! uuughh and can anybody sell me large amounts of katydids, grass hoppers, mantids, bumble bees or dragon flies? they are for feeding my chameleons. the bumble bees and dragon flies are for feeding my exotic pet mantids.

[BlackSoldierFly]

@Care4URchameleon I'm pretty sure I've heard of Phoenix Worms (which are BSF larvae) pupating. I suppose anything is possible, but it's also possible that you haven't provided the right conditions for your Phoenix Worms to pupate and emerge as adults.

[romka4567]

i got so scared the other day here in PA i had garbage outside for 5days stashing up and opened the lid and liek 50-100 of them line formation everywhere just crawling pretty scary.

[BlackSoldierFly]

@romka4567 Black soldier fly eggs take four days to hatch and the larvae are super tiny for several days after that. What you probably have are house fly larvae. House fly eggs hatch in one day or less and develop much more quickly than BSF so after five days you could have fairly large house fly larvae but not BSF larvae.

[liquidrock2u]

why do you raise these thing, whats the point. in my opinion flys don't really serve any perpous.

[BlackSoldierFly]

@liquidrock2u Flies don't serve a purpose? Are you serious? There are 100K+ species of flies and they're an integral part of nature. Black soldier flies don't spread human disease and they're an important detrivore. They can quickly process kitchen scraps so you don't have to dump them into landfill. They are extremely nutritious so you can turn waste into high grade feed for exotic pets and livestock like chickens. I could go on but I have a blog for that.

[violatormelms]

if I were you would I trie to feed them meat..8D

[BlackSoldierFly]

They will eat meat but they are better adapted to eat vegetable matter like grains, fruits, vegetables. BSF will eat practically anything except high cellulose items like leaves, grass, paper, etc. BSF also eat dairy products (anything people eat...). I think the key is that the food needs to be soft. In nature BSF would primarily eat rotting vegetable matter.

[zxcvbnm1208]

do you sell the phoenix worms for reptiles?

[BlackSoldierFly]

I sell starter kits to my BioPod customers and I can only fill a limited number of orders. If you don't want to get involved in raising your own BSF larvae then I recommend Dr. Sheppard's product, the original Phoenix worms. I believe he has the most consistent quality for a reasonable price.

[BlackSoldierFly]

I sell BioPods on my blog for under $200 including shipping to 48 states. If that's more than you want to spend initially you can check out my cheap and easy DIY bucket biocomposter design at my site. You don't need a BioPod to raise BSF, it's just easier and more efficient. I cultured BSF before BioPods were even available. If you like raising worms you'll like these.

[9showoffsin1]

IT COST LIKE 300.00$ A LITTLE TO MUCH i THINK i WILL STIK TO MY WAX WORM AND RED WORM FARM.

[AndreONEz]

A bit disgusting, but it's the nature...

By the way, aren't those larvae used for fishing?

[BlackSoldierFly]

droplogic66, this year I plan on approaching local grocery stores as a source of BSF food. The highest purpose of biocomposting is to reduce our waste so I've felt guilty about feeding them good food. I live 15 miles from the nearest store, but I think it's worth the extra effort. I'll just have to try and time my trips with other needs. Thanks for commenting!

[droplogic66]

I like the grocery store idea. Out of curiosity, how many larvae do you think could be harvested from one individual's scraps ... say, per week or per month?

[BlackSoldierFly]

There is varying data about the conversion rate of scraps to grubs from 8% to 24%. Temperature, food type and humidity might all be factors. Check biosystemsblog for good BSF data.

I'm keeping a log of what I feed the colony this year and what I harvest. You can check my blog if you want to see it. (right hand column)

[droplogic66]

100,000 larvae? Do you consistently harvest that many per life cycle? I imagine they need a lot of food scraps. Do you eat a lot or do you get scraps from other sources?

[BlackSoldierFly]

That estimate was by a third party researcher and nowadays I estimate the population at "10's of thousands" which is broader and probably more accurate. That includes every larvae from just hatched to those ready to pupate, so the estimate is not for a particular life cycle. The newly hatched ones are 1 mm long and as thin as a thread. It would take several hundred of them to equal one full size larvae. I don't generate enough waste so I sometimes use hog feed to make up the difference.

[CondemnedPatriot]

how do you harvest.

I have been watching your videos, you seem to know what your doing.

Thank you for sharing this.

[BlackSoldierFly]

Thanks Condemned Patriot.

The unit in this video is one I made which used pvc pipe ramps up the two long sides of the container. When the larvae mature they try to crawl away to pupate and they end up climbing the ramps which turn out into buckets. It wasn't the most efficient system but it worked.

Now I use and also sell BioPods which are made specifically for BSF culturing. If you want to make your own I suggest checking out the BioPod and incorporating it's features into your DIY unit.

[0th3r]

Could you please share your recipe with me?

[BlackSoldierFly]

Oth3r, I used hog feed from the local feed store. It was their own mix but it was basically corn meal with added protein and other nutrients. The larvae don't really need the protein so plain cornmeal is fine. Last year I supplemented my food scraps with cornmeal, but I soaked it in water for 24 hours before feeding. Using kitchen scraps and spoiled food is the easiest and best way to feed BSF and it reduces the load at the landfills too.

[skil1977]

do you sell them to people for bearded dragon food?

[BlackSoldierFly]

I haven't sold them as herb food, but I've sold some as fish bait. The larvae are amazing bait.

If you don't already know, these are the same as "Phoenix worms" which sell for $6/100. At any time during the summer I'll have 100,000 or more larvae in a single unit. I use most of the larvae I raise to feed the fish in my pond.