Nabiki's Black Soldier Fly Project

I have decided to make the leap to raising live food, not just for my quail, but for future creatures.

Black Soldier Flies (BSF) are common throughout most of the western hemisphere, but are most common in temperate to tropical zones. They don’t bite or sting. Their larvae are high in protein, low in fat, and contain calcium. They are a great food for chickens, quail, ducks, fish, reptiles, turtles, frogs, or other livestock. They also compost your waste very quickly into a nutrient-rich compost for your garden.

You may find more information on the black soldier fly here: https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/beneficials/beneficial-51_black_soldier_fly.htm

And here:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6956010/



Now, on to the project. There are two things to keep in mind as you read my article.

1. I am not an expert on this subject. Everything I’m trying has been from research I have done online.
2. I’m a computer geek, not a builder. If I can build this and get it to work, anyone can.

Materials used in this build:

• 2 - 32 quart plastic tubs
• Coco coir
• A piece of leftover plastic that was taken off of another bin when I made a brooder
• A plastic takeout container
• Rolled barley (any sort of grain will do)
• Some leftover vegetable scraps
• Scrap cardboard from shipping boxes
• Some scraps of hardware cloth
• Duct Tape
• 1 cup of live BSF larvae

Tools used in this build:

• A drill with a ¼” bit

As you can see, I didn’t really spend a lot of money on this project. I think the most expensive part was the BSF larvae, which I got on sale for $20 plus $3 shipping.



Building the home and harvest bin for the larvae:

I started by drilling 5 holes in the bottom of the two 32 quart tubs for drainage. You want the environment to be moist, but not sodden. Unlike house flies, BSF prefer their food fresh, so you don’t want it to rot and attract the wrong kind of flies.


Once the holes were drilled, I added the coco coir. You can use clean garden dirt or soil instead. I just happen to like the texture of the coir. This will turn into a bin of rich compost when you’re done.

Now that the bins have drainage, add your soil, coir, or medium for your larvae. If you use coir, don’t put too much in because it expands a lot when you add water.



The best time to harvest BSF larvae is when they are ready to pupate. How do you know they’re ready to pupate? They crawl out of the compost on their own. This is why a ramp was added next. The ramp should be less than 45 degrees so the larvae can climb it.

I used a piece of plastic that was cut out of another bin when that was turned into a brooder. The larvae will climb this ramp when they are getting ready to pupate.



Now for the second bin. Once again, I add the coco coir and get it nice and damp. This bin will be placed next to the first bin, with the disposable plastic container inside of it directly under the ramp. If some escape the container into the bin, that’s okay, since I plan to release some into the bin to grow into adult flies, while feeding the rest to my quail. I have heard that they freeze well, so I may try that with some so I can continue to feed them to my birds while the flies are dormant for the winter.



It’s time to add some food for the larvae. Measure out a cup of rolled barley or use any type of grain. Add water to get it nice and moist, about the consistency of oatmeal. This is put on top of the coco coir, then any produce that you have on hand. In this case, I added lettuce and watermelon that were going bad in my ‘fridge. Check them daily to make sure they’re getting the right amount to eat. They shouldn’t run out of food, but if you give them too much, it will rot, which, as I mentioned before, will attract house flies.



Next, I added the larvae. The whole setup is going in a shady, sheltered place in my yard.


The second bin has no ramp since adults don’t lay their eggs in the soil. Hardware cloth scraps duct taped to the lid will serve as holders for the corrugated cardboard scraps that the adults will lay their eggs in. (I tried a staple gun first, but the plastic was too brittle and just cracked.)


When the eggs hatch, the larvae will drop into the fresh coir and food, the ramp will be added, and the cycle will begin again. I hope.

Once all of the larvae have left the first bin, I will take the compost and work it into my garden for next year or I will add more food for the next crop of larvae.

The entire life cycle of the black soldier fly is approximately 45 days. 4 days as an egg, 18 days as a larva, 14 days as a pupa, and 9 days as an adult.


Conclusion (for now):

I left my larvae happily munching on their food after their long trip. I plan to update this article as time goes by with my success or failure. I'll provide edits to correct any mistakes that I made, and hopefully we will continue to learn together.



Update #1:

They have been eating voraciously. The rolled barley is almost gone, and they have approximately doubled in size. I have added more food.



Update #2:

I have discovered that the local vermin like to eat black soldier fly larvae. Something (probably a possum) dug through my bins and ate them all. I will order more larvae when I get my greenhouse which will keep the vermin out.