Update 8/25: Since I’m aware that anyone can modify a Wikipedia entry I went there to investigate the process. I assumed there would be a detailed system of presenting information and waiting for a consensus before changes would be allowed. Nothing of the sort. Registration was simpler than with most internet forums and it was automatic and instant. I registered and then began looking for the form where I could make my recommendations for editing the black soldier fly entry. There is no such thing, but there is an edit button. I clicked “edit”, changed a few things and then saved it. That’s all there was to it. A 10 year old could do it. Wikipedia can be a valuable source of information, but it relies on consensus and this can lead to problems with obscure subjects such as black soldier flies. I will continue to edit this Wikipedia entry until it accurately depicts black soldier flies.
I considered deleting this post about Wikipedia since the issue will soon be resolved, however it can still serve to illustrate the problems with relying on Wikipedia as a reference source.
ORIGINAL POST:
First, it’s important to understand how Wikipedia functions.
This is from the Wikipedia entry about itself:
Wikipedia (pronunciation
) is a free,[5] multilingual, open content encyclopedia project operated by the United States-based non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a technology for creating collaborative websites) and encyclopedia. Launched in 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger,[6] it attempts to collect and summarize all human knowledge in every major language.[7]
Critics of Wikipedia target its systemic bias and inconsistencies[12] and its policy of favoring consensus over credentials in its editorial process.[13] Wikipedia’s reliability and accuracy are also an issue.[14] Other criticisms are centered on its susceptibility to vandalism and the addition of spurious or unverified information.[15]
Wikipedia is an open content “encyclopedia”, and here is their definition of open content:
Open content, a neologism coined by analogy with “open source“, describes any kind of creative work published in a format that explicitly allows copying and modifying of its information by anyone, not exclusively by a closed organization, firm or individual. The largest open content project is Wikipedia.[1]
In other words you, or I, or anyone else can modify any Wikipedia entry.
How does Wikipedia get black soldier flies wrong?
The problem with the Wikipedia entry for BSF at this time is that it’s very unbalanced and poorly referenced. You can click the image below to see a view of the entry as it was on 8/21/08.
Of the six bullet points about BSF I believe that one is incorrect and another is misleading:
- The larvae can be destructive pests in honeybee hives
I have heard this before, probably from people who have read this Wikipedia entry, but I have found no research to back it up. All I could find was a reference to BSF larvae inhabiting abandoned hives found in the walls of houses. I can’t imagine how a BSF adult or larvae could survive in an active beehive. BSF are truly defenseless creatures that lack stingers and the adult flies don’t even have functional mouth parts.
I tried finding documentation of this claim from the three sources the article sites as references. The first study didn’t mention bees and in fact the title of the study refers to BSF as “a Non-Pest Native Fly”. The second source deals with forensic science and refers to black soldier fly larvae collected from a couple of bear carcasses. The third source is a print article and I couldn’t locate a copy of the July 2007 issue of Reptiles magazine.
If anyone finds evidence that BSF can be “destructive pests in honeybee hives” please present it to me because I don’t believe it.
- The larvae may sometimes cause intestinal myiasis or pseudomyiasis in humans. See this case in Costa Rica[1]
Whoever wrote this did use the word “may”, but an entry like this is unbalanced if it doesn’t describe how rare this potential event actually is in the case of BSF. The point of an encyclopedia is to present information in such a way that the reader gains a basic overall understanding about the subject. Due to the sensational quality of myiasis this statement it is likely to be overemphasized by the average reader. Anyone who clicks on the word myiasis in this Wikipedia sentence will be taken to a page that describes this very disturbing condition where a fly larvae inhabits the inside of person. This is sensational, but not balanced reporting in the case of BSF.
It’s possible that a BSF larvae will survive in a human gastrointestinal tract if it’s swallowed whole which is why I always recommend chewing them well. 
I found references to a few cases worldwide involving BSF over the last 50 years, and in those few cases no serious or lasting damage was attributed to BSF larvae.
The fact is that this possible occurrence is exceedingly rare and would most likely be caused by people eating from garbage cans. A BSF female seeks out rotting food on which to lay her eggs, not fresh. Furthermore, there is research that suggests that BSF larvae actually control pathogens in waste such as salmonella and E coli. That means a person who ate from garbage inhabited by BSF larvae might be spared a severe illness or even death.
How does Wikipedia describe rattlesnakes?
This is the entire overview section from the rattlesnake entry at Wikipedia:
There are approximately fifty species of rattlesnake, with numerous subspecies. They receive their name for the rattle located at the tip of their tails. The rattle is used as a warning device when threatened. The scientific name Crotalus derives from the Greek, κρόταλον, meaning “castanet“. The name Sistrurus is the Latinized form of the Greek word for “tail rattler” (Σείστρουρος, Seistrouros) and shares its root with the ancient Egyptian musical instrument, the sistrum, a type of rattle.
Most rattlesnakes mate in the spring. All species give live birth, rather than laying eggs. The young are self-sufficient from birth. As they do not need their mother after birth, the mother does not remain with her young.
No mention of venom or human deaths? If you didn’t already know that rattlesnakes are dangerous you might think they use their rattles to calm little babies. Yes, we all know that rattlesnakes are dangerous, but this still represents unbalanced reporting by Wikipedia. You have to read halfway down the lengthy entry to the “Safety and identification” section to find a reference to rattlesnakes biting humans. You would think that the the safety section would mention the fact that these beautiful animals can be deadly to humans, but you would be wrong.
Wikipedia entry for Rattlesnake
And finally, the black soldier fly photo from Wikipedia:
I’ve seen a lot of images of black soldier flies and the one at Wikipedia is the only one I would call sinister looking. I’ll bet the vast majority of people who see that image immediately assume that the BSF is stinging the tree. Could these “soldiers” be so aggressive that they sting trees for no reason!? In fact that is a female black soldier fly laying hers eggs. Unlike disease carrying flies, BSF prefer to lay their eggs above and away from the food source and not on it. BSF mimic wasps in appearance as a defense because in reality they are totally vulnerable creatures.
To put Wikipedia’s accuracy into even greater doubt place your cursor over the original image on the Wikipedia page. You will see the file name for this photo which is “Wasp 1454″. If you don’t know the difference between a wasp and a fly you shouldn’t be creating encyclopedia entries.
Doesn’t everyone know to take Wikipedia entries with a grain of salt?
Well hopefully anyone who reads this post will!
