For those who are curious , I thought it would be nice to ask Larry J . Shier some quick questions about what he thinks about these little critters and what led him to write his new book about them .
Hi Larry . We all know you as a highly knowledgable admin in the main worm farming groups . What has lead you to study the Black Soldier Flies and their larva ?
Hi Huy . Repeatedly people post pictures of BSFL in their Worm bins , concerned about having " maggots ." These particular maggots are a beneficial part of the food chain and are excellent composters in their own right . I wrote hoping to encourage people to use BSFL instead of trying to eradicate them .
You ended up writing an eBook about these creatures , I suppose what you learn about them was fascinating enough . Could you tell us what triggered the need to publish " Black Soldier Fly Eco- Technology For a Sustainable Future "?
I decided to write Black Soldier Fly - Eco-technology for a Sustainable Future because I truly believe these little flies have a role in keeping large streams of waste from landfills and returning nutrients to our soils . An entrepreneur could create a profitable business in one or more of several uses for the larvae , the compost or in waste reduction .
Without disclosing too much about it , can you tell us what the readers will find in the eBook ?
The first thing I need to say is that this is NOT a how to book . You won ' t find ways to build a bin or setup egg traps . What I ' ve done is search through dozens of scientific research papers to discover uses for larvae . Ways the larvae can be used to help us be better stewards of our planet , but also ways that could prove profitable . Without a possibility of profit there ' s no motivation to begin .
Compared to worm farming , how easy is it to do BSFL farming / composting ?
Both worm farming and larvae farming are a lot of hard work . Both require a large food supply on a consistent basis . BSFL eat far more based on weight than worms do so the amount of food needed to do it on a large scale is immense . I see this being done close to other industries that produce a lot of waste , like large scale juice manufacturers , breweries etc . I would say both present their own challenges .
Do you think BSFL farming will one day see the same success as worm farming did ?
I expect that the growing and implementation of BSFL farming will appear much different than worn farming . You can keep worms in a bucket under your kitchen sink and drop in your household scraps . Most people don ' t want a bucket of maggots nor flies inside the house . I expect BSFL to be grown on a much larger scale in general , to compost all waste from a farm or a factory for example . For most households Soldier flies will be a seasonal endeavour , it ' ll take a profitable business model and some startup capital to build large indoor facilities in most cases .
Thank you Larry for this quick interview and for the new eBook .
I have started a small colony of BSFL thanks to Gargantua , my CFT , which has attracted some female BSF . I found some large clusters of eggs which allowed me to start in a temporary bin from a collection tray of a worm farm . You can follow my journey on my blog : The Little Worm Farm 12