I stopped feeding the BSFL on the 27th. For the second time since I started raising them there is a bad odor in the bin. It's not "knock a buzzard off a 5h:+ wagon" stinky, but it sure ain't no fresh corn muffin either. The first time there was an odor it was from larvae mortality caused by leaving the bucket in direct sun and the resulting mortalities. This time it's also from BSF mortalities, but I think the cause was overcrowding.
The good news is that returning the colony back to a healthy balance shouldn't involve more than waiting a few days. That's all I had to do last time.
I'll know that the colony is balanced when final stage larvae begin self harvesting again. I haven't seen that since shortly after I started the hog feed test. In retrospect the lack of final stage, self harvesting larvae should have alerted me to the impending collapse.
When the BSF colony is back to a healthy condition I will start the hog feed test again, but with a reduced quantity of feed, probably 1/4 lb/day.
