Uses in composting or as food for animals

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) are used to compost waste or convert the waste into animal feed. The

harvested pupae and prepupae are eaten by poultry, fish, pigs, lizards, turtles, and even dogs.[12] The

wastes include fresh manure and food wastes of both animal and vegetable origin.

At the pupal stage, black soldier flies are at their nutritional peak.[6][citation needed]They can be stored at room

temperature for several weeks, and their longest shelf life is achieved at 50–60 °F (10–16 °C).[citation needed]

Fly larvae are among the most efficient animals at converting feed into biomass. Aside from the protein

production, fly larvae also produce another valuable resource called frass. Fly larval frass is a granulated

and odorless residue that can be used as organic fertilizer.

Grub composting bins use self-harvesting

When the larvae have completed their larval development through six instars, they enter a stage called

the "prepupa" wherein they cease to eat and empty their guts, their mouth parts change to an appendage

that aids climbing, and they seek a humid, sheltered area to pupate. This prepupal migration instinct is

used by grub composting bins to self-harvest the mature larvae. These containers have ramps or holes

on the sides to allow the prepupae to climb out of the composter and drop into a collection area.

Black soldier fly larvae and redworms[edit]

Worm farmers often get larvae in their worm bins. Larvae are best at quickly converting "high-nutrient" waste
into animal feed.[26] Redworms are better at converting high-cellulose materials (paper, cardboard, leaves, plant
materials except wood) into an excellent soil amendment.

Redworms thrive on the residue produced by the fly larvae, but larvae leachate ("tea") contains enzymes and
tends to be too acidic for worms. The activity of larvae can keep temperatures around 37 °C (100 °F), while
redworms require cooler temperatures. Most attempts to raise large numbers of larvae with redworms in the
same container, at the same time, are unsuccessful. Worms have been able to survive in/under grub bins when
the bottom is the ground. Redworms can live in grub bins when a large number of larvae are not present.
Worms can be added if the larval population gets low (in the cold season) and worms can be raised in grub
bins while awaiting eggs from wild black soldier flies.
As a feeder species, BSFL are not known to be intermediate hosts of parasitic worms that infect poultry, while
redworms are host to many.[27]

Benefits
Larvae are beneficial in these ways:

 Their large size relative to houseflies and blowflies allows them to preventhouseflies and blowflies from
laying eggs in decaying matter by consuming larvae of other species. This matters because compost
systems inhabited by houseflies and blowflies carry a much greater stench than systems inhabited by
BSFL, making H. illucens a more human-friendly way to minimize food waste.[14]
 They are not a pest to humans. Unlike houseflies, adult black soldier flies have greatly-reduced sponging
mouthparts and can only consume liquids such as flower nectar or do not eat at all. They do not
regurgitate food along with digestive enzymes like houseflies, thus do not spread diseases. [15][16]
 They are not attracted to human habitation or foods.[14] As a detritivore andcoprovore, the egg-bearing
females are attracted to rotting food or manure.
 Black soldier flies do not fly around as much as houseflies. They have less expendable energy due to their
limited ability to consume food as adults. They are very easy to catch and relocate when they get inside a
house, as they do not avoid being picked up, they are sanitary, and they neither bite nor sting. Their 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/prepupae 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.[17]
 Significant reductions of E. coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella enterica were measured in hen manure.[18]
 They quickly reclaim would-be pollutants: Nine organic chemicals were greatly reduced or eliminated from
manure in 24 hours.[18]
 They quickly reduce the volume and weight of would-be waste: The larval colony breaks apart its food,
churns it, and creates heat, increasing compost evaporation. Significant amounts are also converted
to carbon dioxide respired by the grubs and symbiotic/mutualistic microorganisms. BSFL in a compost
system typically reduce the volume of compost by around 50%.