Newb asking about black soldier fly larva BSFL

[topgunbobby]

Check out blacksoldierflyblog. They have alot of good info and a forum with helpful experienced people. Im trying bsfl this year. If the weather will ever straighten out a little. 91 yesterday. 29 this morning. Thats nuts.

Yep that's another good sight. I would go to http://www.blacksoldierflyfarming.com/forum as well. Tons of on point info. I got my plans from there.

Check this design out:http://www.blacksoldierflyfarming.c...signs/813-filterbug-plywood-design-blue-print

Weather has been dreadful, but here's hoping.

 

[Reedgirl20]

I've had my compost out for little over a week now. So far lots of house fly maggots but no black soldier flys yet but our weather still unpredictable, was frozen last night and in the eighties this afternoon.

 

[topgunbobby]

Is your compost open or covered? Moisture and cold are the enemy. Again, I bought mine to speed up the process, as they produce pheromones and lay eggs quickly. And freezing to 80's? That is ridiculous.

 

[Reedgirl20]

I actually have a BioPod to auto collect the bsfl, so covered compost. Ya, Oregon weather can be ridiculous. This morning scraping ice off the car windows to go to work and this afternoon using air conditioning because its 91F. The trend is defiantly getting warmer though so hopefully the soldier flys will be out soon.

 

[topgunbobby]

Oh nice! If you've had it for a while, do you know how much larvae are yielded per day?

 

[Reedgirl20]

No, this is my first try with the BioPod and soldier fly larva. I am hoping to get enough larva to give the quails and chickens some variety in the diet. Today I dumped out about half a cup of house fly maggots out of the autoharvester to the chickens. Pretty disgusting but the chickens loved it. I have started doing sprouted wheat and some other seeds for the quail and chickens this week and they are loving it. I've found a local source for wheat and barley seeds for about 15-19cents a pound. Gives them a nice treat.

 

[geedub]

Is your compost open or covered? Moisture and cold are the enemy. Again, I bought mine to speed up the process, as they produce pheromones and lay eggs quickly. And freezing to 80's? That is ridiculous.

I may have misunderstood, but black soldier fly larvae must have high moisture to thrive with 70% being a minimum, although flooding can cause issues including excess anaerobic bacteria.

 

[geedub]

I actually have a BioPod to auto collect the bsfl, so covered compost. Ya, Oregon weather can be ridiculous. This morning scraping ice off the car windows to go to work and this afternoon using air conditioning because its 91F. The trend is defiantly getting warmer though so hopefully the soldier flys will be out soon.

The black soldier flies in OR may have adapted somewhat to the cool climate, but in my experience you won't see breeding until the cold evenings are finished for the season. I would expect to see adult BSF emerge there in late June or even July.

We normally advise people to keep BSF composters fully shaded, but I think in your part of the country it's appropriate to keep one in full or partial shade depending on the weather. The key factor is the internal temp of the colony which should not get much above 105º. Keeping your unit's temps in the upper range of acceptable will give increased activity meaning more waste processing and egg laying.

 

[topgunbobby]

Thanks for elaborating. I didn't intend to mislead. I was answering in context. No doubt you are far more knowledgeable. So do you have suggestions for constructing pupation bins?

 

[geedub]

Thanks for elaborating. I didn't intend to mislead. I was answering in context. No doubt you are far more knowledgeable. So do you have suggestions for constructing pupation bins?

No problem, we're all learning about BSF as we go, including me.

First we need to establish if we're talking about a system for waste conversion (garbage to grubs) or only pupation/emergence. My comment about moisture is for composting units where juvenile (light colored) BSF larvae (BSFL) consume waste. At that stage BSFL need high moisture. When the larvae mature (coffee color) they stop eating and seek a safe place to pupate, which may be somewhat drier than the waste they were previously inhabiting. Honestly I'm not as sure about the moisture limits for the mature BSFL. If they become too dry during pupation they will die. Too wet might also cause problems, but we know BSF live in some very humid climates, so I imagine that even the pupae can tolerate relatively high moisture.