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Joe, the range of BSF is still a mystery to me. The only limiting factor is that they can't freeze, but I would think that's true of other fly species as well. Furthermore it does get down below 20 degrees in south Georgia but the wild population doesn't get wiped out.

I've read that the development of the larvae slows down considerably in cold weather, so it seems they time their emergence with warm weather. I didn't see any adult BSF around my place until several weeks after the last frost. They had to survive as pupae somewhere during that subfreezing period, otherwise I wouldn't have seen adults later on.

Some researchers report that BSF can be found nearly everywhere on the continent, but specific data is hard to find. It's very possible that BSF are relatively near where you live, but just not in your immediate area. I doubt that they will find your scraps if they aren't pretty much down wind of it.

As a long time member of the Pond Boss family you qualify for a free BSF seeding kit (while they last). If you want to try your hand at raising some, just send me a PM with your shipping address. \:\)





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GW as I am sure you know we get weather much colder than that here. It's not uncommon to have negative temps here during the winter and freezing temps happen as late June and as early as September here as well. Flies that live here do freeze at times but still seem to be here each year.

I will accept your offer and would love to try to start a colony of these little wonders, I also appreciate your efforts and diligence in bringing this creature to light here on this forum. I have been away for a while but am finishing my second pond and hanging out here more often these days. I would love to produce more forage for all my fish. Thanks again.

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There isn't nearly as much information about BSF as there is about the common house fly. I think I'll look into how other flies survive northern winters for some possible insight into BSF.

I'll send you some eggs and larvae as soon as my BSF unit comes back into balance after a recent crash that I caused. I pushed the limits of my small container and I went too far. It's all in the name of (pseudo) science. \:\)

If you're curious you can read about the crash at my blog.



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I got my starter bucket ready finally and I've found out that my local Krogers has a awesome fly buffet ready in the making... tons of old produce just sitting next to the dumpster waiting to be rescued.

GW, I guess I'm ready for a starter load of larvae/eggs anytime you're ready. I've primed the pump, but the only flys I commonly see in Houston are houseflys, so I'm not sure I'll attract any BSF's until I stock the neighborhood a bit.


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Lumpus, we know that Houston has BSF. The reason most people aren't aware of their local BSF population is because these flies don't land on people normally or enter houses. I lived in an area with plenty of BSF for two years and didn't know they were here.

I hope to have more eggs very soon.

The first BioPods will ship soon and I'll be getting my blog set up to take orders today. \:\)



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I'm not sure why but my current BSF larvae are larger than I've had in the past. A few weeks ago I experimented with adding about 5 lbs of decomposing fish to my unit, a test that caused some problems with my container. I wonder if these new extra large larvae are a result of the high protein content of the fish.



I think the size of these larvae make them even more desirable as forage for pond fish or bait.



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I was wanting to try a controlled experiment with groups of BSF's eating different things. I particularly want to try a calcium rich diet to see if it makes even better chow for herps. I'm just concerned that a protein rich diet would attract too many house flies.


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Observations from west GA: my larvae love tomatoes. They ate everything but a thin transparent skin that I wasn't even aware of.
I rigged up a situation where those with an urge to wander can escape (they think!), and the ones who took that path are not black like before, but gray. Also, it's amazing how clean they are when they leave the bucket of scraps - no slime, etc. Amazing little critters!!! \:\)


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Lumpus, I've fed my larvae fresh whole fish on a hot summer day without any problem from house flies or blow flies. I recently ran into trouble adding fish because they were partially decomposed when I added them. My small colony managed to process the fish quickly but the odor was a powerful attractant for pest flies. It made my unit unpleasant for almost 2 weeks. I won't do that again. If you want to give your larvae a high protein diet I recommend using fish pellets or some type of animal feed. That type of food doesn't have a strong odor and shouldn't attract pest flies. Be aware that if you feed them only a dry mixture you will need to add water. Also, a little dry feed goes a long way and it's easy to over feed them.

EDIT: When I fed my colony freshly dead fish there was almost no odor noticable outside the container, even on a hot day. I saw 2 house flies in the vacinity of the colony in the hourly trips I made to the container that day. The chances are pretty good you will see 2 house flies anywhere. on any given day.

rmedgar, sometimes you will get a large percentage of large gray larvae exiting the unit. These larvae will transition to the black and final larval stage soon after they migrate out.

Last edited by GW; 07/03/08 08:09 PM.


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Nope, definitely not doing high protein... I'd prefer greens.

So far, after almost a week with my starter bucket, I've got tons of gnats and some regular flies. Not a single BSF sighting. \:\(

I think I'll definitely have to pre-stock to get my colony going.


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I'm sold on using dry dog food, slightly moistened each day, to attract BSF. It doesn't get moldy if you don't over wet it, and it won't attract so many fruit flies. I had some out for about 2 weeks and it hardly looked different after that much time. Of course the simplest way is to seed your immediate area with BSF eggs and larvae.



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I thought you were using the cheaper Pig Chow from the local feed store? I started my pail off with about 5 pounds of old produce from my local Kroger dumpster. The gnats seem to love that stuff, but not a single BSF in sight. It's all just about rotted away now so I'll try replacing that with some dog food.

But, I think I'm definitely going to have to seed the area for sure before the BioPod goes in. Is your colony just about under control again GW?


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Lumpus, I fed the larvae Pig feed for a while last year as a test. I used the dog food to attract adults.

I sent you an email yesterday about seeding kits. If you didn't receive it please PM me here. \:\)



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I just uploaded a video I shot of a BSF emerging from it's pupa. I think I spent 5 or 6 hours total to record a 5 second event.

Everyone needs a hobby, right?

VIDEO



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 Originally Posted By: GW
I'm really surprised that the BSF larvae aren't repelling them. Please let us know if they remain in your unit.


Cheese fly maggots are gone. I do find one every now and then but nothing like the amount I found a few weeks ago. I still think I must have introduced some stuff into the composter that already had fly eggs on it. I scavange a lot of my compostables.

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 Originally Posted By: GW
I just uploaded a video I shot of a BSF emerging from it's pupa. I think I spent 5 or 6 hours total to record a 5 second event.

Everyone needs a hobby, right?

VIDEO


nice video! I got to see that in person the other day when I grab a handfull of larva/pupa to feed my fish.

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I received my BioPod today.

Instead of adding the colony I already have I'm going to start this one from scratch. Granted, it should be pretty easy since I have a colony nearby, so this should represent the best case scenario. The new location is about 200 feet from my existing colony.

Also I would like to introduce the cutest BSF researcher ever:

Meet Alana. \:\)



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 Originally Posted By: GW
I received my BioPod today.


Ooooo... give us all of the details. Was the setup easy? Is the unit solid and well-made or does it have early production flaws?

Pics please \:D

(your seeding kit arrived yesterday - I need to tweak my bucket setup a bit and then in they go!)


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Lumpus, the larvae I sent you can't eat and won't do anything with food scraps except hide under them. Those are prepupal larvae and at that stage they don't even have a mouth, instead they have a hook to help them crawl to a pupation site. Those larvae are almost literally "seeds" and with a little care will soon turn into adults that will mate and then seek out some food waste to lay their eggs by.

I thought I had emailed you some instructions but just realized I didn't. Check your messages here for some info on how to handle these larvae. You can also email me if you need more help.

Man, I've been busy lately!

The set up of the BioPod went fairly smoothly, but like most new designs I have some suggestions that I'm going to share with ProtaCulture. I like that they chose to use stainless steel hardware for an outdoor product. Most of my suggestions will be modifications to the assembly instructions.

I'll post some photos later today. \:\)



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Here's my new BioPod set up near a woody area by the house.






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Hahaha! Mr. Toad obviously appoves of the BSF! And look at that belly!

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Good one mrgrackle. That photo would be good for my blog...



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GW - go for it \:\)

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Hey GW,

I just want to thank you for all of the information you've shared. I've read the entire thread and have gained a wealth of knowledge thanks to you!

I'm new to the group. I found the group while searching for info on BSFL. I have one question though, when you said you had a "colony crash" what exactly did you mean? I'm not sure if I've had a "crash" but I had ants in my compost barrel/BSFL barrel and I flooded it to get rid of the ants (the barrel has lots of holes in it so the water drains out). I also turned it again(in the beginning I turned it when ever I added kitchen waste but stopped that practice a number of days before the ants appeared) I also added a bunch of coffee grounds and rabbit manure that I'm sure had a fair amount of urine on it. The ants went away but the BSFL seem to be different. They don't seem to care any more for cantelope. I figured they were eating the coffee but it seems to be gone or atleast the smell is but the BSFL numbers seem to be down. The ants happened over a week ago. I also put them in the shade with a hot water heater pan under them (to keep the ants out). I would love to get your thoughts on this.

I have only seen BSF in the barrel twice and have never seen any eggs. I was thrilled when I saw the BSF because I had never seen one of these marvelous creatures ever in the wild and my husband was quite unsure of all this and thought I might be wrong in my identification of the larvae. I will admit I was horrified when I first saw them in my compost barrel. The composting barrels are another story.

Now for the good news! Since the prepupae fall into the water I decided to collect them and see if I could sell them to the pet store in town. I sold 275 for $7. They initially offered $10 but for some reason I felt like I was taking advantage of them. It was the staff and not the owner/manager. I also took the prepupaes in in a styrafoam Sonic cup! They sounded like Alka Seltzer in the cup! It sounds like if they can sell them I'll be their supplier. One employee said they're having a hard time getting mealy worms.

My daughter says I'm obsessed and my husband asked yesterday, just before we left for church, if I wanted to take them with me so I could gaze at them during the service. My daughter nearly threw a fit when I called them my babies. There could we worse hobbies, right?

If I can figure out how to post pics, I'll do that soon.

Thanks again for sharing. I know it's taken lots of time and effort and it's much appreciated!
Tweeza

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