Soldier Fly larvae are voracious composters! They can tolerate heat better than the worms and like very wet conditions. They are only around during the warm months. They adults look like black wasps. The adults do not eat. The only time this fly eats is in the larval stage. Guess that's why they pack it in early on!

Thank you SQH1 for your info. So do the maggots turn the solids into liquid form?

Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae have powerful mouth parts and digestive enzymes that enable them to "chew up", eat and derive nutrient from raw organic materials rather than requiring that the feedstock is already somewhat rotted, as is the case with earthworms. Their digestive process does produce a manure that has a higher moisture content than does that of the earthworm, but it would be an overstatement to say they liquify the OM.

BSF larvae in a worm bin are able to process raw OM, and their rather moist manure then becomes a feedstock for the worms, which stabilize the BSF poop into castings.

Because BSF larvae tend to increase the moisture level of the environments in which they mass, many have come to believe they prefer very wet conditions. This is actually not the case, though the larvae can tolerate very wet, anaerobic systems very well. The preference of BSF is for OM systems that we would consider ideal; damp, not wet, and well aerated.

Kelly S

My outdoor bins became infestated with BSF larvae recently. I kept putting off grappling with the problem until I read Kelly's post here. Yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and began separating worms for a new indoor bin.

Much to my surprise, the bin, although a little wetter than I prefer, was in great shape. The worms and compost...or as I should say "vermi-produced, real-similar to-but-not-quite-legally, in-the-strictest-of-terms, compost-like material which I use as compost anyway" were both in better condition than they usually are.

The worms, especially, were healthier than I've ever had, no doubt because of their acquaintance with the BSF larvae.

I decided to let 'em co-exist for as long as possible, and hope that more larvae appear. I think I've been using the wrong conversion host.

Chuckiebtoo

::laughing:: Chukie, you absolutely crack me up! I'll take some of your good old common sense and some of that "vermi-produced, real-similar to-but-not-quite-legally, in-the-strictest-of-terms, compost-like material which I use as compost anyway" any day of the week and twice on Sunday! Both are invaluable.

Kelly S

For those of you who don't print Kelly's posts, make sure you check out her response about Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae. It was most informative.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/verm/msg0401113220154.html

I am realy interested in anyone who has been using soldier fly as their waste conversion host of choice. We have a project going with a compost group in Lane county Oregon and are working with a researcher from WSU in Pullman. He is interested in obtaining colonies from Washington and Oregon so he can use them in his research. He is interested in them for manure management as well as a potential source of an oil for biodiesal. We have experiemtned with using soldier fly for three years in an Earth Machine and are going to test the compost to compare it with vermicompost. Is there anyone who would be willing to connect with the researcher at WSU and share some of what they are doing with soldier fly?

Cindy

I have a small cooler-turned-compost bin that has been taken over by soldier fly larvae. There may literally be thousands of them in my small bin now. I often throw my kitchen scraps in there and they go through it like it's nothing. I tossed a rotting blueberry pie in (only a few slices missing), and it was practically gone the next day. These guys are great for the compost bin, if you can get past the thought of having so many maggots in your backyard. The only concern I have is how good are their castings? I do not have worms in my compost, so I wonder if the castings from just the larvae would be any good for my plants?