Hi mrgrackle, welcome to the forum. Thanks for the comments about your experience and plans with the Black Soldier Fly. I especially want to comment on the issue of pathogens, but I need some time to organize my thoughts so I'll post that later.
If you aren't able to shade your BSF they will either find a way out when it gets too hot or they will die. I've had both of those results in my tests. For a simple, low maintenance BSF culture you need to shade them.
I doubt that using the leaves as you described will help in raising BSFL, and if they generate heat while breaking down they could actually be creating more of a problem. I raised 10's of thousands of BSF larvae last summer in south Georgia and there were only a few times that odor became an issue. Each time I experienced odor problems with the BSFL it was due to my ignorance about raising them. Odor can become a problem if your BSF colony gets out of balance, but with a little experience that's easy to avoid. A properly balanced BSF colony will have a very mild and even somewhat pleasant smell. If your colony does become unbalanced it doesn't take long for it to return to normal function.
For the record, the retail price of a 2 foot BioPod will be $159. I applaud your efforts to use recycled materials but there are good reasons to consider purchasing a manufactured unit instead. ProtaCulture and ESR International is a company that works to make waste processing more practical and supporting them will result in aiding the spread of more Earth friendly technologies. If ProtaCulture doesnt' succeed as a company it will be much harder to promote the use of BSF. I vote with my money, and whether or not I become or remain a BioPod dealer I would still support the company. As a dealer I'll make some money too, but even if I didn't I would still work with BSF and promote ProtaCulture.
