50 replies to this topic

[Mads]

Just hadn't heard much about them lately. I haven't dealt with them personally, but from what I have heard they are good to deal with.

Mads

[dermy]

 

They are located in Prince Albert

That is no word of a lie like 15-20 mins from where I live if we are talking about the Same Prince Albert [In Saskatchewan].

[James C. Trager]

Soldier flies breed in my compost heap - lawn clippings, tree leaves, veg. and fruit scraps, egg shells, and a lot of coffee grounds. Away from compost heaps, they breed in tree holes, leaf litter, herbivore manure. Moisture is important, dean-k; their growth medium must be moist to the touch. 

[dean_k]

Bad news. Xpresspost didn't make it today even though today was supposed to be "Expected delivery date". Meaning the shipment is going to be out there for 4 days now. They told me that the heat pack they include lasts for 3 days max.

 

I am expecting little survivors.

[dermy]

That sucks

[dean_k]

Finally I received it today.

 

I don't usually open boxes at work but I had to open it to make sure they receive warm air. When I opened it, nothing was moving and I feared the worst.

 

I placed the case by a heater for ten minutes or so and opened it to check again. A lot were moving, so I assume more survived than I initially expected.

 

I will get some pictures and a video later when I get home.

[dermy]

Sounds better then I thought it'd be!

[dean_k]

It seems most of them are alive and crawling.

 

 

 

 

 

The plastic container is filled with wet sawdust. The worms are hungry but can't die.

 

 

 

I will try to culture them. This is my 1st testing container for this. I put 3 worms in there and will see how it goes.

 

 

[Crystals]

I will admit that I did a bit of research, as I was interested myself.

 

For people who just want a tiny culture, here is the basic setup:

 

You will need:

1 large container, at least 22" tall x 12" wide, by 8" long.  (Some rubbermaid clear bins fit this bill - this will be your main container, which will hold your adults).

2 smaller trays, about 5"x5", fairly shallow.  (These will be your "egg tray" and "pupae tray")

Some strips of corrugated cardboard.  (for some reason, the flies like to lay eggs in the edges, and the maggots climb down later).

 

Raising bin - you will actually need three, one a bit bigger than the other two.  The other two must be able to stack.

Take the smaller bins (they should fit inside the bigger one).  If possible get smaller bins with sides that are quite sloped for the mature grubs to climb out.  If not, silicone plastic or acrylic at a 45 degree angle on one side, like a ramp; or make a 1" wide ramp around the edges.  For the bigger one, anything works, this is just to catch the matured grubs.

 

 

In the main container, you will have 2 smaller trays.  One will have a thin layer about 1cm deep of instant mashed potatoes, moist bread, oatmeal with a couple strips of corrugated cardboard sticking vertically out of it - you flies will lay eggs here.  This will be your egg tray. 

The other small tray will have dry oats, you will put your pupae in here to eclose.  This is your "pupae tray"

 

Every 2 weeks or so take the egg tray out and dump it into the "raising bin".  Fill the it again with more instant potatoes or whatever you were using for the flies to lay eggs on.  Put it back inside. 

 

In the raising bin, it is a lot like vermicomposting, only you have three bins, two smaller ones inside of the other one.  You cut a small hole in one of the smaller ones and glue/siicone some very fine steel mesh down - this will allow drainage.  You put this one inside of the other small one. You will have some peat/poor dirt in the top smaller one and you will add some veggies (or even meat - these are maggots) to feed them.  Bury the scraps to reduce any odour, usually there is less odor with these than with earthworms.  Only feed as much as they can consume in 48 hours.  For vacation food, give them potato - it takes them much longer to eat this dense veggie.

Once the grubs are mature, they will try to leave the damp substrate.  Due to the ramp, they will be able to climb out easily and fall into the bigger bin (which has a thin .5cm layer of dry oatmeal or wood shavings).  They will dry off and pupate.  Once pupated, put them into the pupae tray in the main container.

 

For the main container, I advise cutting a door, using tape as a "hinge", and use velcro or some sort of edging material to keep it closed.  This makes getting at the trays much easier.  Also glue little edges of cardboard along the inside walls - these flies are very lazy and mostly just sit around.  This will give them something to sit on.  For the lid, cut a big hole and cover with cloth or steel mesh - these guys like ventilation.

 

Adult black soldier flies are very light driven.  No light, no mating; no light, no flight.  If you want to work in the bin, dim the lights, you can literally pick them up.

 

In the main container, some people add moisture container.  They use a deli container with a lid, and put a cloth or cotton wick on top that dips into the water in the container.  The adult flies land on this and can drink.  They don't eat.

[dermy]

Found this thought I'd share:

 

http://www.ie.unc.ed...ow-to_guide.pdf

 

best quote ever:

 

 

 

 

They can also survive off of coffee grounds for a few weeks, but coffee grounds are not a sustainable diet. The caffeine from the coffee grounds helps to boost the metabolism and makes the grubs more active.

 

 

Edited by dermy, December 19 2014 - 1:32 PM.

[dean_k]

I noticed that they cannibalize each other. They don't actively cannibalize but, when weaker ones die off, the others cannibalize dead ones.

[Crystals]

They are maggots, and rotting meat is rotting meat.

You can try offering a bit of apple or other fruit or veggie, or a bit of egg if you prefer.

[dean_k]

I am trying to culture 5 I selected. But they are eating off dead maggots in the original container.

 

The ones I am trying to culture seem healthy and eating.

[Crystals]

I am going to attempt culturing them as well.  I will grab all of my supplies for the setup this weekend.   The hardest part is finding some pheonix worms, I did find one source in Edmonton that I might be able to get some from.  Other than that, I really don't want to pay $25 for shipping for a $10 container of 100 grubs...

 

I will post a how-to thread once I know it works.

[dean_k]

I've gotten my first pupa.

 

 

 

This is an extremely low maintenance setup. I spray some water once a week. It is garden soil you see in there. Food can rot because they don't care whether it's rotting or not.

 

The maggots have proven quite useful to me because, my Formica, is refusing mealworm but accepting the maggots.

[drtrmiller]

I'm pretty sure that's actually an extraterrestrial faecal pellet.

Edited by drtrmiller, January 24 2015 - 9:42 PM.

[dean_k]

I am 99% positive that it is a pupa. Just googling BSF pupae shows identical images.

[LAnt]

I would rather have the alien poop

[Crystals]

I have been experimenting with these as well.

I just made a tutorial on raising these.  I posted it in the How To Culture Various Insects thread.

http://www.formicult...-feeders/page-2

 

My biggest problem is getting all the setups to at least 27C

[BugFinder]

I ordered it. It's 10 bucks for a bowl (150 larvae). I've been paying 9 bucks for Zoo-med mealworms that go bad in less than a week.

 

I can even use the adult fly as food for ants, so I think it's a win-win situation for me.

 

P.S. They are shipping from a location near you, Crystals.

 

pls let me know how you like those!