I was first introduced to Black Soldier Flies when I was doing some work on a friends organic free range chicken farm. They still had to supplementary feed their chickens, but couldn't source any chicken feed that didn't have GMO soy in it and so they had looked into alternate feed sources that they could add to their operation. When my friend told me about them, I didn't know what she was talking about, but after I looked them up later I recognised them and knew that they were common in gardens.
Some time later I set up a compost bin in my mothers ornamental garden and some wild Black Soldier Flies were attracted to it.
Unlike worms, they do OK on a broader range of scraps and aren't as fussy about acid or moisture levels meaning that you can throw organic stuff into the compost that you ordinarily wouldn't, like citrus peels and meat scraps or bones. An advantage over worms is that just before the larvae pupate, they harvest themselves if the compost bin is set up correctly because they go looking for drier conditions so the larvae are easier to collect. They still produce 'worm tea' that can be used as liquid fertiliser and castings that can be used for soil improvement.
They don't eat as an adult, only drink, so they don't hang around the house or contaminate food - they only lay their eggs near rotting organic material and stay away from fresh stuff. I have also read that where there is a good population of Black Soldier Flies, house flies and blow flies are reduced in the environment. They are a much more placid fly and don't buzz around your face.
Some basic information:
Here's a basic DIY Black Soldier Fly composter - I've seen much simpler plans than this:
Some time later I set up a compost bin in my mothers ornamental garden and some wild Black Soldier Flies were attracted to it.
Unlike worms, they do OK on a broader range of scraps and aren't as fussy about acid or moisture levels meaning that you can throw organic stuff into the compost that you ordinarily wouldn't, like citrus peels and meat scraps or bones. An advantage over worms is that just before the larvae pupate, they harvest themselves if the compost bin is set up correctly because they go looking for drier conditions so the larvae are easier to collect. They still produce 'worm tea' that can be used as liquid fertiliser and castings that can be used for soil improvement.
They don't eat as an adult, only drink, so they don't hang around the house or contaminate food - they only lay their eggs near rotting organic material and stay away from fresh stuff. I have also read that where there is a good population of Black Soldier Flies, house flies and blow flies are reduced in the environment. They are a much more placid fly and don't buzz around your face.
Some basic information:
Black soldier fly life cycleBlack Soldier Fly Australia | Mr Vincent 0478 932 723
Black Soldier Fly Australia. We locate in Darwin, Northern Territory - Mr Vincent 0478 932 723. We supply Black Soldier Fly Larvae - organic high protein foods to pet lover, pet retailer. Great foods to feed the chicken, fish, quail farms in Australia.bsffarm.com.au
If you haven’t reared the BSF before, it is essential to understand the whole life cycle of this beautiful species as well as their ideal environment for rearing. There are 5 stages in the BSF life cycle: Egg > Larvae > Pre-pupa > Pupa > Adult.
- Eggs – The incubation takes around 3 days with the temperature 27 to 30 Celsius.
- Larvae – the duration for this stage can last from 4 weeks to 5 months. The environment is the key factor affecting larvae life such as temperature, the source of food. The optimal temperature is in the range of 25 – 30 celsius.
- Pre-pupa – This happens at the late stage of larvae, the only way to differentiate is the colour change to the dark brown and the larvae start migrating to the dry – darken site for the pupa stage.
- Pupa – At this stage, the larvae completely turn to the black colour, all the activity will be stopped and they completely stop moving. The pupa stage will last for about one to two weeks.
- Adult – After emergence from the pupa stage, it takes a bit of time for BSF to unfold the wing. Mating takes about 2 days after and another 2 days before egg laying.
Black Soldier Fly eggs production preparation
Firstly, we will assume that you are not able to catch the wildBSF. In this case, the list of items that we think you need to prepare:
Cardboard Wooden Plate- BSF pupa – black larvae
- Small Net Cage – you can buy a mosquito net for the quick easy setup.
- Cardboard or Non-processed wood plate – The chemical in the wood can be harmful to the BLS. However, we highly recommend the wood material for better efficiency in mass-collecting.
- Get some BSFLs or BSF eggs from local – if you couldn’t find any luck in your local area, we recommend to get the Pupa larvae (black larvae) because they have the highest chance to survive during the long shipment distance, if you would get the eggs or larvae from the local, it would be great.
- A small amount of fruit waste for higher efficient attraction
- Natural sunlight from a window or skylight with the humidity range from 30 to 90%.
The setup
In nature, the adult female BSF lays their eggs near a potential food source. Unlike other species of flies, the female BSF doesn’t lay their egg directly on the source of food.
If you got some BSF pupas – black larvae, leave them in the dark area for the emergence. The matting only incurs when there is natural light or artificial light with lightwave from 400nm to 700nm. In other words, the BSF need some sort of light has UV energy. With this in mind, we recommend having the natural sunlight for the breeding process.
The photos can be worth thousands of words, you can have a look at our set up:
black solider fly egg production setup
Woody plates for BSF laying eggs
Putting the woody stick above the source of food
Black Soldier Fly breading
The ability of the Black Soldier Fly (BSF) to convert waste into high-quality nutrient biomass opens the new alternative for the sustainable food source for animal feed. When we have any species breeding, there are three important factors that affect survivorship, growth, and development of that species, particularly the BSF. Those are the environment, food, and water. Let’s dive deep into the environment – the temperature this time so we can better understand what is the optimal conditions for mass production the BSF.
The ideal temperature for Black Soldier Fly
The researchers conducted the experiments from the temperature from 10 to 42°C with the relative humidity 70%. The temperature effect on the longevity of the BSF each stage. Bellows are the summary of what they found out:
Egg – Incubated at 15°C was 14 days, significant higher than incubated at 35°C which was only 2.60 days. If eggs were at 10°C to 42°C, they would completely not liveable.
Larvae – 62 days at 15 °C , around 12 days at 30°C and 16 days at 35 °C.
Pre-pupa – Longest development time was around 84 days at 15°C and shortest time 9 days at 30°C
Overall, the development time ranged between 28 days at 30°C to 184 days at 15°C. There is a clear pattern shows that BSF larvae growths were slower when the environment falls below 20°C.
The highest number of eggs was found at 30°C and significantly affected at 15°C and 37°C.
Summary
From the above result, now we know the ideal temperature for BSF mass production is around 25°C to 30°C, while 35°C is very unfavourable. For the transportation of the live BSF larvae or egg, the storage temperature at 20°C is ideal to increase the longer life span and avoid the early egg incubation during the shipment.
Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) provides a high value and sustainable source of protein for the poultry industry, other animals and will continue to do so in the future. It will also contribute tremendous value outside the agriculture industry such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Is the Black soldier fly larvae safe to be an animal feed?
BSF contains up to 40% protein and 30% of fat and protein is one of the essential for the development and growth of the animals. There are numerous studies around the world have shown that BSFL can safely be used as a protein source to replace fishmeal which currently put a lot of pressure on our oceans.
In a research on the topic ” if the BSFL meal can replace fish meal in diets of sea-water Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)”, the researcher found that replacing fish meal with BSFL did not affect the growth performance. The outcome also indicated that BSFL is a nutritionally appropriate source of protein for Atlantic salmon. In the other journal article from Springer Science, the results suggest that replacing of fish meal with BSFL was not only not affect the growth performance, but also the body weight gains significantly.
Organic chicken farm with Black Soldier Fly
We have successfully farmed in the small scale of the free-range chicken and quail in Viet Nam with BSFL, this results in saving up to 80% of feeding cost. Our product can be labelled as an organic chicken because the chickens are feed with the organic food, receive no antibiotics and have decent outdoor space. If you haven’t feed your animal with BSFL before, we are confident to recommend you try BSFL as the stockfeed and you will see BSFL’s benefits.
Are Black soldier flies harmful?
Are Black soldier flies harmful?
The adult black soldier fly does not have mouthparts and does not feed upon waste. They do not bite, and as only the larvae feed, are not associated with transmitting any diseases.
Where are black soldier flies live?
Black soldier flies can be seen in bright, sunlit areas, resting on nearby structures or vegetation and frequenting flowers of the daisy and carrot families. They are one of the most beneficial flies in existence and are considered non-pests.
Here's a basic DIY Black Soldier Fly composter - I've seen much simpler plans than this: