Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens) Larvae and Rat-tailed Maggots in a Compost Bin | 1080HD
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Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia Illucens) Larvae and Rat-tailed Maggots in a Compost Bin.
Here again is my compost bin full of black soldier fly larvae (hermetia illucens) and rat-tailed (drone fly) maggots. When I first opened the lid, there was a group of solider fly larvae on the rat-tailed maggot, but they mostly dispersed before I could get the camera rolling.
In a couple months, these big BSFL (black soldier fly larvae) and maggots turn a tub of waste into very fertile soil for planting. I normally just mix it into a mixture of leftover dirt from other pots, and I've had some amazing yields.
BSFL prevent houseflies and blowflies from laying eggs in the material they inhabit.
As a detritivore and coprovore, the egg-bearing females are attracted to rotting food or manure.
Black soldier flies don't fly around as much as houseflies and thus are easy to catch and relocate when they get inside a house. They do not avoid being picked up, they are sanitary, and they do not bite or sting. Hermetia illucens only defense seems to be hiding. When using a wet grub bin that will collect or kill all the pupae, the black soldier fly population is easy to reduce by killing the pupae/pre-pupae in the collection container, before they become flies. They may be killed by freezing, drying, manually feeding to domestic animals, putting the collection container in a chicken coop for automatic feeding, or feeding to wild birds with a mouse/pest-proof feeder.
Additionally, black soldier fly larvae are edible to humans. The larvae are highly efficient at converting proteins, containing up to 42% protein, and a lot of calcium and aminoacids. In 432 hours, 1 gram of black soldier fly eggs turns into 2.4 kilograms of protein. They are thus a viable source of protein for human consumption.
In 2013 Austrian designer Katharina Unger invented a table-top insect breeding farm called "Farm 432" in which people can produce edible fly larvae at home. It is a multi-chambered plastic machine that looks like a kitchen appliance. According to Unger: “Farm 432 enables people to turn against the dysfunctional system of current meat production by growing their own protein source." Approximately 500 grams of larvae or two meals can be produced in a week by the machine.
The taste of the larvae is said to be very distinctive. Unger: "When you cook them, they smell a bit like cooked potatoes. The consistency is a bit harder on the outside and like soft meat on the inside. The taste is nutty and a bit meaty."