Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Black Soldier Fly project

Well, thanks a lot, GW. Now, the whole unit is very angry with me.

Randy, just take the most rebellious larvae for a swim with the fishes...

You betcha! I'm taking a shovel full of them from the bottom of the BioPod down to the dock, and see how they like a little sun!!!!

They liked it! I laid the "glob" out on a nice piece of tin and they danced right off to dinner. A good time was had by all.
The tan colored BSFL sink and the black float.

You heathen.

Randy, if you want the juvenile larvae to float for any reason you can soak them in water for 30-45 minutes.

Yes Sunil, Randy is a heathen.

Gw, I read all 19 pages and I too am now captured by this small insect. I am wondering if you ever set up the pvc pipe over your pond? I would be very interested in this setup as I have tons of garden waste every year. Rotting tomatoes ect.. I would love to be able to feed my fish these lovely insects and get rid of so much garden waste at the same time. You have no idea of how many vegetables I have that just get tossed because we do not have enough time to process them all. I would like to run a pipe along my dock and let the little guys just drop straight into the water. I am sure after some time that would be an excellent place for an easy catch for the kids. I am located around Leavenworth Kansas and I am pretty sure I have seen these flies once or twice in the summer. Anyways please update on your progress with the pipe. Thanks, John

A little clarification: in the picture above, the dark stuff is dirt and not BSFL. In their haste to go for a swim the tan larvae moved the whole pile as they made thier way to the edge. Eventually every thing went into the water - more structure!!

I'm glad you've come to appreciate my favorite bug John.

No, I haven't set up the pipe yet, but I did start to test a fish-heavy diet in one of my colonies. It looks like a small colony will be able to handle a steady flow of culled fish and fish parts. Given enough time the BSF even eat the fish bones. I believe they grow very well with the high protien diet so I expect a good yield of larvae.

Your supply of wasted veggies would be a lot of fun to process. Have you seen the Black soldier fly cucumber festival yet?

No I haven't ,but I will look at it.

hi everyone ive enjoyed reading through most of this thread i love to hear people talk about what they are passonate about theres been alot of talk about resturant waste but what about schools (cafeteria)it would be good for high schools and colleges for the obvious reasons of composting and could be great for elementary schools because they could learn early about recycling and green thinking the experiments you yourself have implemented would be awesome science class experiments and as a side note you sell to the schools kids go home and tell their parents what they learned and the parents come to you for one of their own maybe im just dreaming here haha

Hi GW,

Will add your blog to our site http://www.circle3.com , we look after the BioPods in Australia. We have found, as also identified by some of your readers, that BSF are great escape artists and we were frustrated in harvesting the BSF larvae until the BioPod came along. We are now working with several groups to take the production of larvae to the commercial level using the larger units.

On a cost basis, we are in luck as some city councils here reimburse the purchaser of a BioPod via a 'green rebate' as they classify the units as composting units. The smaller residential units will eliminate 1 tonne of putrient waste per year from hitting the land fill. The commercial units will eliminate up to 5 tonne a year. At A$85/tonne the cost recovery for the councils is simple math. So as readers look to the benefits of BSF, remember they are helping to reduce landfill, and perhaps saving money for the user and the council along the way.

We would love to hear from any commercial growers of larvae.

Love your blog and will promote it from the corrected center of the universe. :-)

Smiles from sunny and warm Australia.

Hi Circle3, thanks for including me on your site. I'm not aware of rebate programs here but I'll look into it. Good luck!

Thumbs up GW!

Hey Ric. Happy new year from me and the whole colony.

Hey, he's still alive.

I could be a zombie...

...clowns are scarier.

True.

Do you known when the black soldier larvae use the waste such as swine feces,what about the optimum ph ?

Hello and welcome P.Tony.

I don't know the answer to your question, but i found a brief reference to the pH of swine manure in the following article:

http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/waste_mgt/smithfield_projects/phase2report05/cd,web%20files/A2.pdf

pH is mentioned on the table found on page 13 of the report above. It doesn't mention if the the pH they measured is optimal.

I did a quick search on BioSystems Design's website but I didn't find the answer. That site is usually the first place I look for specific data about BSF.

http://biosystemsdesign.wordpress.com/

Good luck!

Hi GW! thank you so much !
There are so many advantages to use BSF for feedstuff,in my opinion ,it will become a trend in environment and feedstuff field in the future.
Good luck!

Hello, GW,
With using the Biopod,how many waste can be decomposed one time? And how many grams larvae will be harvested one day?

P.Tony, the results are variable depending on temperature, humidity, and the type of waste being processed. The manufacturer states that a BioPod can process 5 pounds (2.2 KG) of kitchen scraps per day and that the yield will be approximately 1 pound (.5 KG) of larvae per day. I usually don't process that much so I can't confirm that personally. They used to claim a higher number but I think that was based on their own highly skilled use and under nearly optimal conditions. The new claim is probably a good working average.

You can find some detailed data at the BioSystems Design blog that I mentioned in my last post. The specific page for general BSF data is here: Black Soldier Fly: Compiled Research On Best Cultivation Practices

As more people use BSF to compost food waste we'll get a better idea of the average performance under various conditions.

HI GW, is it about time to be looking for the BSF? Last year you sent me some eggs and they worked great, but I'm trying to do it myself this year. My BioPod is set up and ready to go. I didn't notice that the "tea" was too beneficial to me so I've piped it underground about 20' away and will let it drain into the earth.
Hope all is well. Many of us miss your informative and humorous posts.Best wishes, Randy