Black Soldier Fly Larvae Bin for Box Turtles

[Eric Phillips]

I finally have my BSF grub larvae bin ready for the summer! For those who don't know Black Soldier Fly larvae are exceptional feeders for fish, chickens, birds, amphibians, and of course reptiles....i.e. Box turtles. The reason is due to the nutritional value they contain... calcium : phosphorus ratio is almost 2 : 1, calcium content is extremely high up to 8,155 ppm compared to a mealworm in the range of 20-135 ppm, protein level is average around 17%, however fat is low at 9.5% The fat contains Lauric Acid which is an antimicrobial property. Plus, the larvae make great composters and can retain the nutrients for months if stored properly. I've seen them in my worm composts over the years but it wasn't until last year when I realized they were a feeder! Was too late in the year to try and harvest them, so this year I built a compost trap bin! The Fly itself lives only 8 days just to find a mate then dies and females can lay up to 500 eggs. Just thought I would share, hopefully this year will produce a few thousand larvae for my herd.

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow! That's quite a set-up, Eric. Where do the flies come from? Natural or purchased?

 

[Eric Phillips]

Natural, I seen a few last week when the temps were warmer...they like it hot. They pose no threat to any insects or the ecosystem and are disease free. They like to lay their eggs near anything rotting to assure the larvae will survive and I've been told old coffee grounds attract them.

 

[wellington]

So, how does it work? I get the rot will attract the flies. Then they lay their eggs by the rot. The buckets are throwing me off.

 

[Eric Phillips]

So, how does it work? I get the rot will attract the flies. Then they lay their eggs by the rot. The buckets are throwing me off.

So the design is similar but modified to someone else's design. There are many ways to make a bin, this is made out of scrap material. The premise is when the larvae turns black(which is their highest calcium value) they will try to escape the bin to find an area to turn into the fly. As they do they will climb the 45 ramp funneling up into the hole shoot down into the bucket, yielding the larger ones for feed. You can pick through the smaller ones in the bin for hatchlings. Of course this is a first year learning curve however a friend of mine that his family raises chickens has a much larger similar set up and it works like a charm for them. If you go to a pet store you can get 30 of them for $4 however half are dead. If you purchase them from Phoenix worms(they are fantastic) your paying shipping costs.

 

[wellington]

Very interesting. Hope it works out great for you. Luckily I only have one small Bearded that eats bugs and won't need to when he gets bigger. I don't do well with bugs, but do find things like this very interesting.
Thanks for the info and keep us posted on how it works out.

 

[Eric Phillips]

Found a bsf grub in my worm compost bin. Here is the picture of the fly.

 

[Tom]

What a fantastic idea and an excellent design! I can't wait to hear how well it works out. Please post lots of pics and info so that we can all learn from your experience.

I've studied up on this a little bit, but I've never taken the time to follow up on it because:
A. I don't have any insectivores right now.
B. This BSF species doesn't occur in my area.
C. I have five species of roaches to meet any need for insectivore food that might come up for me.

I still want to learn more about it though.

 

[bryanmepstein]

Or you can buy 500 for $10 or less online LOL!

 

[Yvonne G]

What are your thoughts on adding BSF larva to my worm bed?

 

[Eric Phillips]

Or you can buy 500 for $10 or less online LOL!

Good luck with that Bryan lol!

 

[Eric Phillips]

What are your thoughts on adding BSF larva to my worm bed?

I don't see nothing wrong with it so long as you can provide enough organic matter in your worm bin and you will have to fish them out. If you want to encourage the flies to lay eggs then place some corrugated cardboard in or near the worm bin. They will lay the eggs there.

 

[BloodbucketXXL]

This is a really neat idea. I too have been thinking of growing some feeders. I don't want to mess around with crickets, most roaches are illegal in my state, and worms just don't seem to be growing fast enough for me. But flies seem like a great idea.

A question though...I've heard that black soldier fly maggots can prevent other fly species from breeding in the medium. How exactly do they do this? Is it some kind of chemical process (like, emitting scents that are repellent to other fly species) or do they actively kill other species of maggot?

If it's the latter, and they actively kill other maggots, then does that introduce an element of risk by using them as feeders? Like, if a turtle were to swallow a black soldier fly maggot without killing it, would there be any risk of the maggot doing any kind of damage to the turtle's digestive system?

 

[Loohan]

What are your thoughts on adding BSF larva to my worm bed?

I accidentally did this by putting some half-rotted squash in my worm bin last year that presumably had eggs. Might be OK except the bin is indoors in my outbuilding, the flies hatched out over time this spring, and for a couple months i had to shoo them out the door.

Same thing happened with Felter's bin. He does not like BSRF much for some reason and did not eat many of the ones i gave him last summer, so i had the same issue in my cabin.

 

[Turtlesfromcolo]

Very nice. My boxies love these..

 

[Rachael403]

I got these online one time, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I opened the little container and flies were everywhere! I was half killing them and giving them to our boxies. They loved them, but I was a little grossed out by these weird flies in my house.

 

[CharlieM]

What are your thoughts on adding BSF larva to my worm bed?

BSF create a very acidic environment that compost worms don't usually like.

 

[bryanmepstein]

Good luck with that Bryan lol!

I get them delivered weekly without fail and they are always top notch.

 

[Eric Phillips]

I get them delivered weekly without fail and they are always top notch.

So exactly what's your point? First of all if you purchase from Phoenix worms which is the best supplier your buying 100 plus shipping is $15. I have over 500+ in the bin right now and I'm not waiting on shipping, I know exactly what's being fed to the larvae, I can access them anytime I want, continuous supply, and it's FREE as charge from Mother Nature herself. Nothing wrong with thinking you got a good thing going on but can't debate against someone who's getting the milk for free....so agin good luck with that! Lol!

 

[PJay]

This is a great idea Eric. Do you think it could be designed to drop the larvae directly into the turtles enclosure? Automatic live feeder!