Greetings, Does anyone know if there is a naturally occurring population of H. illucens (Black Soldier Fly, BSF, BSFL) in the GVRD? I am very much interested in starting a nutrient recycling, waste reduction/processing project in the form of a small backyard greenhouse aquaponics unit. I haven't been able to find any solid confirmations that we do in fact have them in our area. Ultimately, I would like to be able to grow plants off of captive fish effluent. Feed the fish with pupa from BSF, and feed the BSF with food waste from my home (and several surrounding homes) Thank you in advance! Tim
I didn't know such things existed. I haven't done a google search for it, but do you know where one might find such a person?
Tim I’m fascinated by the potential of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) for organic waste handling. "SF larvae can digest over 15 kilograms per day of restaurant food waste per square meter of feeding surface area, or roughly 3 lbs per square foot per day. A 95% reduction in the weight and volume of this waste was also noted. This means that for every 100 lbs of restaurant food waste deposited into a unit, only 5 lbs of a black, friable residue remain!" (link) In researching this subject I have never found a confirmed siting of a native population in the GVRD. This study on the UBC site documents a summer project utilizing imported larvae - Biology and Behavior of the Black Soldier Fly - Phase 1 issued in July 2010 (PDF file available). Although it's only an informal student paper it's nice to see something from Canada. The project also has a blog here. Unfortunately they didn't have much success with breeding and there have been no updates since August 2010. There have been sitings reported in Washington state. The Black Soldier Fly Blog has set up a BSF Locator map (link) displaying the locations of confirmed BSF sightings/populations. I also help out on their forums (link) and have a few pages about BSFL on my site (link)
I was thinking some-one at Agriculture Canada could help. Also, call Evergro. Ask for the biological department and see what they have. 604-940-0290
Hey thanks, Evergro didn't know anything about BSF. I'm not quite sure whom to call at Agroculture Canada. Anyone have suggestions? Cheers! Tim Also, the guy from Evergro said that he didn't think it would be an environmental problem growing them locally as you can buy them from pet stores as lizard food (Calciworms or Phoenix Worms).
The people at agro-can didn't have any information :(. They are marketed as Phoenix Worms at local pet stores as an insect feed for herps. I guess that if they are sold as live food in the area, they'll be okay to cultivate. Whether they survive the winter, who knows. I understand that they are able to change their life-cycle and hold off development went ambient temperatures drop below favorable conditions. I'll keep this updated as I learn more.
This a thread on the albertareptilesociety.org forum where they speculate that BSF may become illegal to import (link). I don't know what the current status is. A wild population has been reported not to far south of you in Washington state (link)
Was trying to identify a bug we say in our backyard last weekend. Fairly sure it was a black soldier fly. So yes there are naturally occurring populations in coastal bc.
