Black soldiers flies beneficial to the garden

Black soldiers flies beneficial to the garden

As decomposers / in composting

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are used to compost waste or convert the waste into animal feed. Fly larvae are among the most efficient animals at converting feed into biomass.

When the larvae have completed their larval development through six instars, they enter a stage called the "prepupa" wherein they cease to eat and empty their guts, their mouth parts change to an appendage that aids climbing, and they seek a humid, sheltered area to pupate.

This prepupal migration instinct is used by grub composting bins to self-harvest the mature larvae. These containers have ramps or holes on the sides to allow the prepupae to climb out of the composter and drop into a collection area.The wastes include fresh manure and food wastes of both animal and vegetable origin.

Larvae are beneficial in these ways:

Black soldier flies do not fly around as much as houseflies. They have less expendable energy due to their limited ability to consume food as adults. They are very easy to catch and relocate when they get inside a house, as they do not avoid being picked up, they are sanitary, and they neither bite nor sting.

When using a wet grub bin that will collect or kill all the pupae, the black soldier fly population is easy to reduce by killing the pupae/prepupae in the collection container, before they become flies.

They may be killed by freezing, drying, manually feeding to domestic animals, putting the collection container in a chicken coop for automatic feeding. In addition, many experts believe that the high calcium content of the larvae (also called "phoenix worms") may halt or reverse the effects of metabolic bone disease. This biomass, of larvae harvested nutrients, is worth about the same as meat and bone or fishmeal. It can be easily and economically transported, unlike unprofitable manure, and reduces the need to import concentrates that are added to other types of feed. source: wiki & aggie.

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