BSF multi-stage starter kit

Know what you are getting

Please read the disclaimers and descriptions below before you order. If you live in one of the far northern states there’s a good chance you don’t have wild BSF in your area. This will make culturing BSF much more complicated than if they were present in the wild.

Price

Our  multi-stage kits contain approximately 1000 larvae of various size/ages as well as an estimated 2000 BSF eggs in a specialized hatchery. Our price for this kit is $37 plus actual shipping costs.

Shipping information and guarantee

BSF die the moment they reach a temperature of 113ºF/45ºC. For that reason we can only guarantee kits that are shipped using an overnight service such as FedEx Overnight or USPS Express Mail. The cost of these services varies by location and generally ranges between $20 and $60. We will be happy to calculate the least expensive overnight option for you; simply contact us and let us know your address.

It is your responsibility to be available to receive the kit, and if it is returned to the shipper’s office it is then your responsibility to pick it up within 24 hours. You must also open the kit the day you receive it to allow the larvae to breath. Under these conditions your kit is fully guaranteed.

A starter kit is not required undermost circumstances

Assuming you live in an area with wild BSF a kit is not a necessity and furthermore, a kit alone is not enough to populate a BSF unit with; you must ultimately attract female BSF from your local population to succeed. The main purpose of the starter kit is to aid in attracting the local BSF to your unit to help jump start reproduction. The kit can speed up the process but it cannot guarantee success.

A BSF unit relies on a free roaming population of adults because mating can’t take place in the confines of such a container. In the absence of an existing BSF population you must establish “wild” BSF on your property. A BSF kit can theoretically seed a micro population where you live, but I have no personal experience doing that. If you wish to give it a try I’ll do everything I can to advise you.

In general the warmer and wetter your climate, the more likely it is that you already have black soldier flies in your area. Colder and drier climates represent the least likely places to find BSF and they are the most challenging places to establish a colony. This is also true of elevations over 5000 feet (1500m). The native range of BSF is the southeastern U.S. but over time they have been transported around the world. BSF are most commonly found in the USDA plant hardiness zones 7 – 10.

usa_hardiness_zone

(click map to enlarge)

Our multiple life cycle kit

The black soldier fly starter kits that I’ve seen for sale elsewhere are made up of only juvenile (light colored) grubs. An all-juvenile kit is relatively quick and easy to collect and package, but I don’t believe it represents the best strategy for establishing a colony. Our kit is made up of three different stages in the life cycle of the black soldier fly; eggs, juvenile grubs and mature grubs (pre-pupae). I believe that starting out with more than one stage of development helps “jump start” the life cycle in a way that a single generation of larvae can’t. Our kit is a bit more complicated than an all-juvenile kit, but the learning process involved in implementing it will be a good introduction to the basic knowledge needed to operate a BSF colony successfully.

The eggs

female-laying-in-DIY-bucket-w bucket-composter-eggs-in-cardboard-May-11-2010-w

When your kit arrives it will contain BSF eggs which may have already hatched during shipping. The introduction of very young larvae ensures that there will be actively feeding BSF in the BioPod for 2 – 3 weeks after the initial batch of juveniles (included in the kit) have matured and self-harvested. The presence of actively feeding larvae is the most powerful way to attract egg laden female BSF.

The strategy of our kit is to have the larvae from the hatchery still feeding at the same time the mature larvae from the kit have pupated, emerged and mated. Having these two complimentary life stages active at the same time gives this kit an advantage over single stage kits.

The juvenile larvae

BSF larvae eating bread

(click images to enlarge)

This is the stage that is famous for being waste-eating machines. The juvenile larvae (tan color) will begin eating the food waste you provide immediately when you add them to your BioPod or homemade BSF unit. As they eat they emit chemicals that serve to attract any nearby adult BSF females searching for a suitable egg laying site. This attraction is the key to any starter kit and ours is designed to maximize the presence of juvenile larvae by introducing  them in various ages including larvae that are only days old from the hatchery.

The juveniles also emit chemicals that repel houseflies, fruit flies, etc, but the number of larvae in a starter kit will not produce a sufficient amount for the repellent effect. Your juvenile larvae will most likely share the BSF unit with other fly species until the BSF are well established. You can minimize the reproduction of other fly species by covering the food scraps with an inch or two of shredded office paper (not newsprint or glossy) or wood shavings (preferred). You can also avoid attracting many species of pest flies by not adding meats, poultry or fish scraps at first, but you can process these products after establishing your colony.

One common mistake is adding too many food scraps to the BSF unit initially. The larvae included in a starter kit are only capable of consuming a few ounces of food per day. A total of a few pounds of scraps is plenty in the beginning, you can gradually add more as needed. The result of adding too many food scraps initially is that you will end up with a lot of mold and fungus before the larvae can process everything. The mold/fungus won’t hurt the grubs, but it makes the process less pleasant for the operator. A certain amount of decomposition is actually good for attracting BSF, the issue is controlling the amount and this is best done by starting out small and adjusting as needed.

You should not remove any food scraps from your BSF unit after installing the starter kit because the assumption must be that larvae are present in any and all scraps. This is true of the tiny larvae that emerged from the hatchery, but you must also assume that some local BSF adults have succeeded in finding your unit and have laid eggs in it. The resulting larvae could be anywhere in the food scraps and are so tiny at first that they are difficult to see without magnification.

The mature larvae (prepupae)

bsf-larvae-in-hand-wm

The mature larvae are almost black in color and are called pre-pupae because this is the last stage before they pupate. When a BSF larva transforms from juvenile to mature it changes in important ways other than just color. In the prepupal stage the larvae do not eat so they don’t develop a mouth. In place of a mouth they have a hook-like appendage to aid crawling as they migrate away from the food source in search of a protected place to pupate. The self-harvesting aspect of BSF is a result of this migration. Mature larvae will circle the edges of the BSF unit, eventually being guided up a ramp if one is in their path. A properly designed ramp will direct the migrating larvae to drop into a collection bucket. An inch or two of sawdust (not pressure treated), peat or rice hulls in the collection container will help calm the larvae by giving them a something to hide in. They can remain in the collection bucket for several days without any attention.

Installation of the kit

The egg container (hatchery)

hatchery-before-installation-w

Due to the time it takes for shipping, the eggs in our kits have often hatched by the time they are received or they will hatch within a day or two. Either way, the installation is the same. The eggs are packaged in a small plastic container with a snap-on lid. Do not remove the lid. The tiny grubs are very prone to dehydration and the hatchery protects them. The lid has a slit in it which has been sealed with clear packing tape. Remove the packing tape and place the container in your BSF unit, upside-down on some moist food. A slice of moistened bread is ideal for this purpose. Be the bread remains moist for several days, adding a few drops of water each day as needed.

If the tape which covered the slot on the lid has some of the tiny BSF on it you may gently rinse them into your BSF unit with a few drops of water.

The egg container is shipped with a small quantity of food in it and some larvae may stay inside for many days. There is no reason to rush to remove the hatchery from the unit. When all but a few of the larvae have left the hatchery you may rinse the any remaining larvae from the container with a little water before permanently removing it.

The bag of larvae

The kit includes a large plastic bag with a combination of mature and juvenile larvae (small and large) and a small amount of bedding material. Simply empty the larvae and bedding into your BioPod or DIY unit. The juveniles will begin eating and the mature larvae will soon migrate into the harvest container. The bedding is a combination of sawdust and BSF castings and it contains the scent that serves as a powerful attractant to female BSF seeking an egg laying site.

As the larvae mature

The dark mature grubs will gradually accumulate in the collection bucket. In an established colony you could feed these grubs to pets, livestock or wildlife, but when starting a new colony they should be allowed to pupate into adult form (winged stage) and mate. A typical BSF unit is not a closed system which means that the adult BSF are released so they can mate outdoors and then return to the unit to lay their eggs.

A BSF unit at full capacity will have enough larvae in it to cover the surface area with few inches of solid larvae, maybe more. Until you achieve that density you should focus on building up the colony. I don’t recommend feeding any mature grubs to animals until you completely establish the colony. Each pair of BSF that you sacrifice as animal feed represents 500-900 eggs that might have been laid in your unit. I also don’t recommend scattering the mature grubs on the ground while building up a colony.  I think it’s best to protect every mature grub until your colony is at capacity.

If you scatter the collected mature grubs on the ground that leaves them vulnerable to the many predators that target insects. It’s fair to assume that only a small percentage of released grubs will survive to become adults. It’s best to keep the mature grubs in a container such as a bucket with a lid to protect them. The container needs to have several holes with a diameter of at least 3/4  inch to allow the emerging adults a way to escape. The holes will also provide necessary air for the pupating BSF and also aid in keeping the temperature regulated. Like the BSF unit, this prepupae container must be completely shaded and protected from rain. Adding an inch of bedding material such as sawdust (not pressure treated), peat, etc to the container will encourage the grubs to pupate, but it must stay dry and loose so the emerging adults can climb to the surface.

If you see dark grubs that seem stiff and aren’t moving do not assume they’re dead. What you’re probably looking at are pupating BSF. The video below will give you an idea of what the pupae look like, and how fast they emerge.

YouTube Preview Image

The bottom line

I hope I haven’t made bio-composting with BSF sound overly complex because in reality black soldier flies are very adaptable and forgiving.

Comments 59

  1. Lazy Gardens wrote:

    Much of the discussion is about keeping the colony alive over the winter.

    This is an intriguing way to get rid of kitchen waste and damaged produce, but can they handle the hot weather of Phoenix AZ?

    Posted 23 Sep 2009 at 1:57 pm
  2. Jerry wrote:

    Black soldier flies are very productive in hot weather and they are most common in the tropics and subtropics. The temperature within the colony can be above 100ºF without any problem, but the larvae will die at around 116º. When the larvae are actively feeding they generate heat so the colony is usually hotter than the outside temperature. For that reason it’s important to keep the BioPod in full shade in the summer months and some extra attention might be required on days over 100º. During weather like that I would reduce the amount of food added and probably leave the lid off of the BioPod when possible.

    Another consideration in AZ might be moisture. The food scraps in a BioPod will usually provide adequate humidity but in a very dry climate it might be necessary to add a little liquid on occasion. 70% humidity is considered the minimum for BSF larvae I believe. The adult BSF mate outdoors and the dry weather isn’t an issue for them, but the larvae need to be moist. For that reason the dry climate in AZ probably means you don’t have a native BSF population so it would be a little more challenging to establish a colony. In more humid areas people can rely on the local BSF population but without them you would need to create your own small population. It can be done but it might take a little more attention.

    Posted 23 Sep 2009 at 3:02 pm
  3. john goddard wrote:

    Can you be called about soldier fly production? I think I would like a commercial unit. email me and i will call you

    Posted 25 Sep 2009 at 2:38 am
  4. Jerry wrote:

    Hi john,

    I wish I had the time to discuss BSF on the phone but I just don’t. I do my best to operate our ProtaCulture dealership using good business practices, but in reality this is a hobby and not something I can support myself with at this time. The fact that I don’t depend on BioPod sales allows me to offer the very best price available for them and for starter kits.

    Posted 25 Sep 2009 at 11:58 am
  5. Lazy Gardens wrote:

    Jerry –
    I did some research, and apparently there were populations of them breeding in Phoenix privies in the 1950s.

    That means they can survive here, but some sort of cooling would have to be provided. If it’s just a question of keeping them under 110 or so, that’s easy enough with a wet blanket around it to evaporatively cool the tank, and some vent holes in the tank.

    Take the lid off and every bird in the area would be feasting on grubs.

    Posted 25 Sep 2009 at 12:39 pm
  6. Jerry wrote:

    LG, black soldier flies were also commonly found in outhouses throughout the southeast and carried the nickname “privy fly”. This was a win/win situation for man and BSF because the BSF repelled disease carrying fly species.

    I leave the lid off of my units occasionally and haven’t had a problem from birds. The larvae shy away from light so with the lid off they stay just below the surface. I also have my BioPod under a shade tarp so this probably helps.

    Posted 25 Sep 2009 at 12:57 pm
  7. Andrew wrote:

    Jerry, thanks again for sending me the jumbo sized starter kit. It was quite a surprise to receive them in CA only 2 days after you shipped from GA.

    These grubs are fascinating and I’ll do my best to keep them happy. Hopefully this starter colony will jump start my colony next Spring.

    I’ve posted more details about my first experience with BSFL in your DIY bucket comments area. (comment #74)

    Posted 14 Oct 2009 at 12:12 am
  8. Jerry wrote:

    You’re very welcome Andrew. For the record the kit I sent you is the same size I always put together. When we sell one of them to a BioPod customer for $10 it’s basically a giveaway and a bonus for purchasing a unit from our site. The $29 we charged you for the kit is really less than it’s worth, but we’re trying to encourage people to get involved in BSF culture. I only mention this because our price makes it appear that others who sell starter kits are overcharging, but it’s more accurate to say that we’re undercharging.

    Maybe someday we’ll get rich selling BioPods and starter kits but for now it’s a hobby. I’m glad you’re enjoying your new little colony and I look forward to seeing your progress.

    Posted 14 Oct 2009 at 9:07 am
  9. Andrew wrote:

    Jerry, for someone who’s never seen a bunch of grubs, it certainly looked like a jumbo batch. It’s clear from this blog & your many posts in other forums that the grubs & BioPod are a passionate hobby for you. I agree with your “undercharging” characterization. If herp (lizards, frogs, etc.) owners find out about your starter kit, they might flood you with orders for grubs to feed their pets.

    Anyone who wants to see what the starter kit looks like can check out my video on youtube. No sound in the first minute, but it shows the bag of grubs (~1000+) & the egg hatchery that contains the eggs & baby grubs on the sides of the container. Fast forward to the 2 min. mark to see what 200 (hand counted) grubs look like. I’ll try to post an update in 3-4 wks. when the babies have grown into juveniles.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHOG2F6wfww

    Posted 14 Oct 2009 at 12:34 pm
  10. Jerry wrote:

    Thanks, Andrew,

    We only promote starter kits to our BioPod customers at this time and fill retail orders if possible. We also don’t advertise the $29 price because I think you’re right about being flooded with orders. :)

    Posted 14 Oct 2009 at 12:38 pm
  11. ted hanes wrote:

    Please send information on prices/ types of starter kits.

    thank you ted

    Posted 19 Oct 2009 at 8:24 pm
  12. Jerry wrote:

    Hi ted,

    I don’t know of anyone else who offers BSF eggs in their kits, but due to the cool temps I doubt that I can fill any orders for our normal multi stage kit. I have plenty of juvenile grubs I can ship, however unless you’re in south Florida it’s probably too late to have BSF reproduction for this year. If you’re interested in a larvae-only kit contact us here: http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/contact-us/

    Posted 19 Oct 2009 at 10:37 pm
  13. Brian Travis wrote:

    Jerry, are you using the ProtoPod yet? Or are you still just using the BioPod for raising BSF?

    If you ARE using the ProtoPod, how about updating us on your experience with it?

    Thanks! :)

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 5:06 pm
  14. Andrew wrote:

    Here are some of the 5?-10 day old babies from the starter kit:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In-T-LHNKYI

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 8:11 pm
  15. Jerry wrote:

    No Brian, I’ve never laid hands on a ProtaPod.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 8:16 pm
  16. Jerry wrote:

    Andrew, thanks for the nice videos. I’ll put them on my video page.

    Posted 20 Oct 2009 at 9:10 pm
  17. Andrew wrote:

    I’ve posted a video of what the starter kit looks like after 2 full weeks. Approx. 300-400 of the original 1k+ grubs have self-harvested and are now dormant in the pupating area. The eggs have all hatched. The babies range in size from 1/4″ up.

    The smell of the dampest coir/residue at the bottom is fairly strong – bordering on what some may consider unpleasant. There was probably some undigested cheese from lasagna put there a few days ago. The surface of the bin has a coffee-ish smell since I add used coffee grounds every day. I think I will mix things up every couple of weeks just to get air down to the bottom of the bin and keep the residue looser.

    As you’ll see in the video, the grubs populate the entire volume of coir/residue. When I place food on the surface, large groups of them come up to feed, but I’m guessing there are still a good number occupied in other areas of the bin. The temperature range in the bin is 80-105ºF. I haven’t checked in the middle of the night, but some are churning early in the morning.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW0X9Tuw3JI

    And if you haven’t already seen it, here’s the video of the starter kit on day 1 (no sound 1st min). If you conservatively say there are 1k grubs in the bag on day 1, I’d say there are now easily 3k+.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHOG2F6wfww

    Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 3:15 pm
  18. Jerry wrote:

    Andrew, neat video, thanks for sharing it.

    Regarding the odor; I think it’s a sign that you probably need to add fewer scraps to your unit. At the proper feeding rate you won’t have any food scraps that are being ignored by the grubs. If I were you I would stop adding anything until there is almost no visible food left.

    Also, with internal temps of 105º you don’t need any insulation at all. I didn’t see any in the video but I thought I would mention it just in case. You might consider adding a few ventilation holes.

    Thanks!

    Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 3:32 pm
  19. Andrew wrote:

    Jerry, the scraps I add are gone from the surface each day. I think what happens is some of the denser parts sink into the bedding. That’s ok for an apple, but not ok for a chunk of cheese. I won’t put anymore cheese or meat without really chopping them up into small pieces. Meanwhile I’ll stop feeding for a couple of days except for maybe coffee. Don’t want the grubs to go into withdrawal. :-)

    I did have top bubble insulation, but I’ll remove it until I move the unit outdoors. The problem is right now the outside temps can go from low 50s to high 70s, while in the shed it’s a steady 60-65ºF. I was also waiting until I put the bin outdoors before drilling the vent holes. It’s likely some mature grubs will escape through the vents and get stuck indoors. I’ll probably cobble together a raccoon-safe structure in the next week or so.

    Posted 25 Oct 2009 at 7:47 pm
  20. Jerry wrote:

    Andrew, perhaps you aren’t overfeeding, but I would always be cautious about it, especially if you get bad odors. Just because the food disappears from the surface doesn’t mean it’s being eaten in one day as you point out. In general I stop feeding if there is any bad odor at all.

    Posted 27 Oct 2009 at 6:21 pm
  21. Andrew wrote:

    Jerry, I gave them only coffee for 2 days and everything is fine again. I think you are right that caution in feeding is important – both quantity and quality of food. Of course quantity depends on size of the colony. My little gang of grubs isn’t going to eat as much as your army. I’ll be more careful about feeding from now on.

    BTW, the coffee grounds I give them are fresh – no bacterial action going on. When I put coffee on a sheet of wax paper (butter wrapping), the grubs climb onto the paper and churn away in the coffee. There’s nothing else there. I doubt there’s much nutritional value, so they must be getting a buzz from the caffeine, right? These grubs are a kick!

    Posted 28 Oct 2009 at 11:04 pm
  22. Jerry wrote:

    Andrew, I was thinking about your set up and I wonder if the lack of ventilation might encourage anaerobic bacteria growth. That would at least partially explain the bad odor.

    I’ve often wondered about the grub’s attraction to coffee grounds. Maybe their love of coffee will help more people relate to them in a more positive way. :)

    Posted 29 Oct 2009 at 8:34 am
  23. Brian Travis wrote:

    The grubs sure love the coffee grounds, but they don’t reduce the volume of grounds added to the biopod nearly to the extent they do food waste, fish, and pet feces. I learned the hard way that the coffee residue will fill the biopod rapidly

    I’ll post later about how I solved that problem. Photos and video to follow.

    Film at eleven! :)

    Posted 29 Oct 2009 at 5:51 pm
  24. Andrew wrote:

    My first hatchling!!! What the…?? Temps have only been in the 65-75ºF range the past couple of weeks. I saw the fly around 6pm and scooped it up with a piece of paper. It buzzed in protest, but I guess it’s wings were still too new and it couldn’t fly. I took a few pics of it before setting it in a sheltered place outside. It was gone when I checked an hour later. I hope it’ll be able to find a mate.

    I was planning to move the colony to a larger bin this coming Sunday, but now I think I’ll do it tomorrow. I’ve got the larger bins prepared with vent/access holes and will transfer everything tomorrow.

    Posted 05 Nov 2009 at 12:49 am
  25. Jerry wrote:

    I’m rethinking my position about BSF activity and temperature. Of course they are a subtropical species and their activities are strongly influenced by ambient temperatures, but there is a lot more happening in the upper 60′s and lower 70′s than I previously thought. I saw adults emerging from my pupation bucket a few days ago when the high was in the mid 60′s. The next day was in the mid 70′s and I saw a fair amount of egg laying activity. The development of the larvae and egg laying activity is less than it was in the warmer months, but it continues to happen.

    Posted 05 Nov 2009 at 9:12 am
  26. Andrew wrote:

    Yesterday I moved my 3 1/2 week old colony (from the starter kit) into BSFL bin v.4. It is now a 10 gal. feeding bin inside a 25 gal. catch/pupating bin. I decided to clear some debris and do a rough count as part of the transfer. I removed about 3 cups worth of debris (stems, peels, coffee filters, etc.) and uneaten food and put it in my worm bin. I also removed about 2 1/2 gallons worth of coir/residue and put it into the new bin. Here’s the video showing the residue and my grub count. What do you think of my 3,500-4,000 estimate, Jerry? About 1 1/2 lbs?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds8AvdMFuNc

    Posted 06 Nov 2009 at 10:36 pm
  27. Jerry wrote:

    Looks great Andrew, I think you’re estimate is very close. Do you plan to do something different with the mature larvae? I wonder if they would hang out in the bin without pupating until spring, or if they might pupate in the bin and postpone emergence.

    Posted 06 Nov 2009 at 11:03 pm
  28. Andrew wrote:

    I just checked around 7pm PST and saw ~20 mature larvae that had just self-harvested (climbed up the vertical side of the smaller bin and dropped into the larger pupating bin). Since there’s condensation on the walls of both bins, a couple were also climbing the walls of the larger bin. Some may have chanced on one of the 14 holes I drilled in the larger bin and crawled all the way out into the garden. My guess is that most will stay in the pupating bin and join the ~500 mature grubs already there. I’m hoping they postpone emergence until springtime, but after that first fly emerged 2 days ago I don’t know what’s going to happen. It rained today and the forecast for the next few days is for temps in the 50s & 60s. I think we may have seen the last of 70s temps for the year.

    Posted 06 Nov 2009 at 11:33 pm
  29. Jay wrote:

    I have a Biopod that I am just getting started and for the last week or so have had a combination of BSF larvae and (I am assuming) housefly larvae (long and slender, round not flat in cross-section). The last couple of mornings I have found that the housefly larvae are crawling out of the biopod, but the BSF larvae are not. I have read that an established colony of BSF larvae will repell other flys (adults) but I did not know that other larvae are repelled enough to leave the food source to crawl off to whatever is their fate. Is this what is happening or is there something else at play here. Like I said, the BSF larvae seem to be doing well, so I am not overly concerned, just courious.

    Posted 23 May 2010 at 8:18 am
  30. Brian Travis wrote:

    Jay, Jerry may have a better answer for you, but in my experience, it is normal for the houseflies to get established first. They mature faster than BSF so initially you will see more fly larvae crawl off. As the BSF become the dominant population, you won’t have any more housefly larvae.

    Look at it like this – the BipPod is currently purging itself of mature fly larvae and will soon run pure BSF! :)

    Posted 23 May 2010 at 9:32 am
  31. Jerry wrote:

    Hi Jay,

    Brian is exactly right. Also, there are several types of large fly larvae so it’s hard to know that you have BSF until you train your eye to see small differences. If you can post a fairly close photo I could confirm that you have BSF.

    Posted 23 May 2010 at 2:39 pm
  32. Jay wrote:

    Thanks Brian and Jerry. I was not aware that housefly “Crawled off” also. Jerry I am pretty sure that I have some population of BSF larvae. I have had adult BSF in and out of my biopod for last several weeks. I will post a picture when I get one.

    Posted 23 May 2010 at 8:14 pm
  33. Jerry wrote:

    Jay,

    The adults are much easier to identify so you do probably have BSF. Of course photos are always welcome…

    Posted 23 May 2010 at 9:12 pm
  34. Ej wrote:

    I think I may have some BSF Larvae but I am not certain how can I post pictures of them so you can confirm

    Posted 25 May 2010 at 6:02 am
  35. Jerry wrote:

    Hi Ej,

    You can sign up for a free image hosting service like PhotoBucket or Flicker. It’s fairly simple to upload images to those sites and it will generate a url that you can paste in a comment.

    In the meantime the best way to ID BSF larvae is by their ridges. Most fly larvae are smooth with no noticeable ridges but even with small BSF larvae these ridges are apparent.

    Posted 25 May 2010 at 7:29 am
  36. Ej wrote:

    Please tell me I have the right larvae….

    Posted 25 May 2010 at 10:05 am
  37. Jerry wrote:

    The sure do look like BSF to me. :)

    Posted 25 May 2010 at 11:21 am
  38. Andrew wrote:

    Quick recap (see earlier posts above for more detail): I ordered a starter kit very late in the season (Oct. ’09) and had great success with a mini colony for several weeks. The colony eventually fell dormant with the majority of BSFL maturing.

    Those pre-pupae began to hatch early this month. I notice a few BSF hatching every day, but have not yet seen any eggs. Unfortunately the weather has remained cool this month and rain has been forecast for most of this week. I have a good batch of rotting veggies on one side of the BSFL bin and am hoping the hatchlings will eventually return to their birthplace to lay eggs.

    Posted 25 May 2010 at 12:30 pm
  39. Jerry wrote:

    Hi Andrew, thanks for the update!

    You might consider fermenting some corn in water, it will really help direct the mated females to your unit.

    Posted 25 May 2010 at 12:34 pm
  40. Island Mountain Farm wrote:

    Hey Jerry,

    We’ve got a small family farm up here in Zone 5b in north central Washington. We are trying to close the circle and make sure that all our nutrients are being returned to the earth, not possible of course but a worthy “Holy Grail” to quest after.

    Very interested in the BSFs but only if there is a way that we can complete the life cycle on the farm and not have to reorder early life stages repeatedly.

    We would love to run all our garden wastes and possibly sheep manure through these insects. Is it possible or do we just stick with our worms up here in the dry, sometimes very warm, sometimes VERY cold, interior northwest area?

    Thanks,

    Bill

    Posted 27 May 2010 at 5:35 pm
  41. Jerry wrote:

    Hi Bill,

    Good luck with the quest! I have heard of BSF in zone 5b but I don’t believe it’s all that common. Even if you don’t have wild BSF I’m sure it’s still possible to build up a local micro population, it would take some effort though. As far as needing to reorder BSF every year; you can hold larvae through the winter in a semi-dormant state or even keep them eating waste. I don’t have much experience doing that but I have kept some larvae alive through each of the last mild winters here in S. Georgia. The fact that it’s colder where you are only means you would need to provide more insulation and maybe the protection of a shed or other unheated enclosure. The main point is that the larvae will not die if you keep them moist enough and don’t let them freeze. If you’re ambitious about BSF and want to give it a try I’ll advise you the best that I can.

    Posted 27 May 2010 at 6:01 pm
  42. Island Mountain Farm wrote:

    Thanks Jerry, we’re going to take a shot at it. No problem keeping them moist and unfrozen, we do the same with the nightcrawlers we carry over through the winter. The challenge as I see it is making sure we can provide them the proper habitat for completing the reproductive phase. On that aspect of their life cycle I will be very grateful for your advise. Hell I’ll be grateful for your advise on everything about the BSF, we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here, just trying to figure out how to expand the range of where they can be successfully cultured.

    I’m ordering a Biopod right now with the starter kit so we’ll get going during the warm season and figure out how to carry them over through winter after we’ve gotten some experience culturing them.

    Bill

    Posted 03 Jun 2010 at 1:21 pm
  43. Jerry wrote:

    Bill,

    I’m not involved with the new BioPod Plus and I’ll be curious to learn what you think.

    I’m glad to hear that you’re going to try this and I’ll help in whatever way I can.

    Posted 03 Jun 2010 at 2:33 pm
  44. Ej wrote:

    a few of my larvae have morphed into a hard bean like pellet. Is it possible I have a different fly that has a very similar larvae to BSF. I put one in a screened enclosure to see what it turns into. Wish me luck…..

    Posted 05 Jun 2010 at 11:10 am
  45. Jerry wrote:

    Hi Ej,

    The pupa of a BSF larva looks just like the dark mature larva but straight and stiff. The pupa you have is from another fly. Once I found some larvae in my garbage can that looked very similar to BSF so I collected one for comparison. I kept one of them until it pupated into a reddish “pellet” and then finally a false stable fly emerged. I wish I could find a photo of the pupa but I can’t. :/

    …and the resulting fly:

    Posted 05 Jun 2010 at 12:35 pm
  46. Ej wrote:

    Should I try starting again or do I just keep this bin going untill BSF start to establish themselves? I did see a BSF flying around the bin but I never saw it go in.

    Posted 05 Jun 2010 at 11:19 pm
  47. Jerry wrote:

    Ej,

    I would not throw away any food scraps that you’ve been working with, especially since you spotted a BSF nearby. You must assume that BSF eggs have been laid and that tiny new larvae are in the waste; it wouldn’t necessarily be easy to see either until the larvae are several days old. The other species will pass through the system until the BSF population expands enough to dominate it. It’s typical to witness only a small fraction of the egg laying that is taking place in your unit.

    Posted 06 Jun 2010 at 8:03 am
  48. Andrew wrote:

    I’ve had BSF hatching out from my bin daily since May 1st. Some of the dormant, older juveniles from winter are now semi-active. I saw many self-harvest several days ago during a rainy day. I’ve seen mature BSF flying around the garden now, but I haven’t seen any egg clusters in the cardboard sheet I placed partially covering the rotting food. I dug in the bin just now and saw some very small grubs, but I’m not entirely sure they’re BSFL. I’ll give em a few days to get bigger and check again.

    Posted 06 Jun 2010 at 6:24 pm
  49. Andrew wrote:

    I still haven’t seen any new juveniles, but I decided to transfer the contents of my styrofoam winter bin into a regular plastic bin and found a very small swarm of nearly mature juveniles. They’re already dark and will probably self-harvest soon. That means these are the last of the babies that hatched from the starter kit last Oct/Nov.

    Although I haven’t seen any egg clusters, I did observe some BSF squirting a white liquid from their tail end. Have you noticed that before, Jerry? Any explanation? I’ve since seen those white “stains” all over the sides of the outer bin in my bin-within-a-bin system.

    When I dumped the winter bin contents, the pudding at the bottom was pretty wet with a strong smell. I’m hoping exposure of that material will help attract BSF egg layers. I’ve also increased the amount of rotting material in the bin. I should have done that sooner.

    Posted 27 Jun 2010 at 8:30 pm
  50. Jerry wrote:

    Andrew,

    I remember seeing a liquid discharge from one adult BSF, but I don’t remember the circumstances. Are the BSF that are doing this wild or captive?

    The old residue is probably a bit anaerobic since you haven’t had an a dense colony to churn it. It should work to attract some females, but be careful if it becomes more stinky, BSF aren’t attracted to anaerobic waste. If I were you I wouldn’t add more rotting food, I would ferment corn or maybe cabbage in water to create a nice sour smell. I’ve had better results with that than with using table scraps.

    http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/2010/04/28/attracting-black-soldier-flies-with-corn/

    Posted 28 Jun 2010 at 4:22 pm
  51. Andrew wrote:

    Jerry,

    I’m guessing these are BSF that hatched out from last year’s starter kit. They’re “wild” now, but they were born from captive Georgian BSFL. I just this minute checked the bin and watched a BSF “lay” a drop of a milky substance on a dry banana peel. I also think I saw some eggs nearby, but I didn’t want to disturb the fly in case she’s actually laying eggs.

    The old residue wasn’t so wet that it smelled bad. It was pungent but not offensive. There was a small group (a handful) of grubs churning part of the the residue. The stuff at the very bottom was compacted and had to be scraped out.

    Ok, so I checked the bin again and the fly was gone. It sure looks like eggs. I shot a quick video, but they’re so small I’m not sure you can get a good look. I’ll post the video later today.

    The weather is finally warming up around here and the bin temp just now was 90F. I think I’ll move the bin to partial shade instead of full sun.

    Posted 28 Jun 2010 at 4:53 pm
  52. Jerry wrote:

    Thanks for keeping us updated Andrew.

    Posted 28 Jun 2010 at 5:17 pm
  53. Andrew wrote:

    The video I took yesterday was not very clear, but today I was able to get a photo of a full egg cluster. I forgot how to insert a photo, so hopefully this photobucket link will work.

    Posted 29 Jun 2010 at 8:34 pm
  54. Jerry wrote:

    Wow Andrew, thanks! I’ve been trying to get a good closeup of BSF eggs for 3 years but my skills and/or my point-n-shoot camera wouldn’t allow it. Everyone needs to understand that this is an extreme closeup. That is common corrugated cardboard and each egg is only about 1mm long, less than 1/16 of an inch.

    Posted 29 Jun 2010 at 8:40 pm
  55. Andrew wrote:

    Yup. I forgot to mention the scale. I placed that piece of cardboard on top of the food pile and have been checking it regularly. Today I saw something white in one of the holes, but could not really make out what it was. I thought maybe a tiny spider had spun some web or maybe it was mold? I could only “see” the individual eggs when I took the photo.

    They are tiny! Maybe 1/5th or less the size of a grain of rice (short grain). Good thing my camera has a super macro setting. The lens is practically touching the cardboard. I got as close as I could without casting a shadow on the eggs.

    I’m pumped! I’m pretty sure individual eggs have been laid on a banana peel and probably other dryish material on top of the food pile. Now I’ll try not to disturb the stuff too much for a week or two to give the tiny babies time to hatch out and grow a little.

    Posted 29 Jun 2010 at 8:56 pm
  56. Jay wrote:

    Jerry – I have seen a dramatic drop off in BSF sightings in and around my BioPod. I have been putting the larvae that crawl off into a 5 gal bucket in the garden. There is an inch or so of loose sawdust in the bottom. The bucket is under a shade cloth at all times but it has been REALLY HOT here lately (today is supposed to reach 115). I checked on the grubs the other day and they are all hard and stiff. Have they been completely cooked or are they close to emerging into flies? Any ideas would be appreciated.

    Posted 02 Jul 2010 at 2:01 pm
  57. Jerry wrote:

    Hi Jay,

    The 115º forecast is pretty scary, but my guess is that your mature larvae have transformed into pupae and will emerge as adults in a few weeks. I’ve read that the mature larvae seek relatively dry locations to pupate, but if you’re having extremely dry conditions you might want to sprinkle a small amount of water in the bucket. I assume that in nature the larvae could have burrowed into the soil where it’s cooler and moister. I would leave the sawdust dry enough that it doesn’t clump together, but not completely dry in your case. It IS possible to dehydrate larvae/pupae and a little water should provide a little insurance against that.

    I’ve also seen a dramatic drop in adult BSF activity here is SW Georgia. I assume it’s a micro cycle on my property but I have noticed that BSF become scarce whenever it gets rainy. Each year that I’ve raised BSF I’ve seen cycles of egg laying that I can’t explain at this time.

    Posted 02 Jul 2010 at 2:36 pm
  58. Ej wrote:

    What is the red stuff in the hatchery? It looks like guava jelly is that what it is?

    Posted 07 Jul 2010 at 7:35 pm
  59. Jerry wrote:

    Ej,

    The red stuff is just wheat or cornmeal cereal with some red food coloring added to make the tiny larvae easier to see.

    Posted 07 Jul 2010 at 7:44 pm

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