Black Soldier Fly Emerging From It's Pupa

http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/

Black soldier flies are a non-pest fly that have the potential to transform the way we process waste. BSF don't transmit disease like house flies do, and in their larval stage they can eat almost any organic matter with unusual efficiency. A 2 foot diameter container of BSF larvae can digest several pounds of food scraps everyday, and they reduce the volume by up to 95%.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• biopod
• Hermetia
• illucens
• composting
• black
• soldier
• fly
• flies
• feeding
• larva
• maggot
• bioconversion

[looksee26]

its not it's.

its is the possessive third person pronoun. it's is the abbreviation for it is (or, sometimes, it has).

[BlackSoldierFly]

@looksee26 Of course you are correct. Thank you for striving to educate the people of the world about this common mistake. :P

[ipeeblackdeath]

I'm debating getting some phoenix worms to feed to my bearded dragon and I'm worried that if one finds a way to hide from me and the lizard it will turn into a fly and harass the dragon the cage is about 80 degrees what is the possibility of this happening?

[BlackSoldierFly]

Yes and no. Yes the larvae may pupate and emerge as an adult. No it won't harass the lizard. Black soldier flies aren't interested or capable in harassing humans or any other animals. The larvae want to eat rotting food, the male flies mate with the females then die, and the females mate, lay eggs near rotting food and then they die. The adult BSF don't even have working mouth parts and they don't have a stinger. The larvae may be the best food you could give you your lizard. Good luck!

[ReinaPristina]

Hey cool. :) We have a ton of them in our composter, I've never actually seen one turn into a fly.

[BlackSoldierFly]

That's typical ReinaPristina, the larvae are common, but the adults are rarely seen. This is one reason black soldier flies aren't well known even though they're quite common.

[mrtilley66]

wow just picked about 50 out of my worm bin had no idea what they were until I found your site.Thanks for posting your vids on them.

[BlackSoldierFly]

BSF won't give you much compost because they reduce food scraps by as much as 95% depending on the type. With worms you convert waste to soil, with BSF you primarily get grubs and little compost. One interesting thing about BSF compost is that it's said to be a fantastic medium for redworms. Maybe others worms too, I'm not sure.

[nappytedd]

I am composting with redwrms. they cannot cosume nearly as much as BSF, my question to you is do they creaate a rich soil? or are they just using up the organic matter?

[BlackSoldierFly]

Both kind of. I originally got interested in them when I was researching ways to feed pond fish. What I learned is that they have the potential to transform how we process waste. A small colony of black soldier fly larvae can eat 10 pounds or more of food scraps in a day. The larvae that you get are excellent food for reptiles, fish, wild birds, etc.

If you're curious you can check out my blog. One important thing to know is that these flies don't carry pathogens like house flies.