Black Soldier Fly grubs for compost.

[fasttense]

Has anyone tried to use these creatures for compost? I understand these little beauties will create compost in days vs weeks for worms.

Here is a pod cast link for Parts I and II of a very interesting interview with a guy who uses these grubs: http://agroinnovations.com/podcast/2010/02/08/episode-78-the-black-soldier-fly-part-i/

He says they don't process the plant fiber so I'm thinking that if I give them my used oyster mushroom substrate, they will munch down on the expended mycelium between the chopped straw while churning up and mixing the chopped straw. Then it would make a nice mulch with plenty of organic matter. He says you don't get much in the way of compost from these creatures but he does not seem to be adding a lot of plant fiber. A good compost will contain larger pieces of organic matter to allow for air circulation. if you add plant fibers like my chopped straw, the grubs will mix it in with all the other matter they have eaten. And the grubs make good chicken feed too.

Right now I have to empty out the spent substrate, break it apart by hand (it can get very tough and hard), mix it into my compost pile and wait a month or more (depending on outside temperatures) for it to fall apart. I have tried putting my spent substrate right on my plants, but it is difficult to separate and scatter, and un-composted it attracts rot maggots.

Has anyone tried these for compost?

[mopinko]

1. i am def interested in this.

i have not done that well with worms. these guys look like they are more suited to the type of material i usually have.

i was in hawaii recently (hey, farmers get their time off at the right time of year imho), stayed at a little off the grid place, and suspect these might have been the flies that took over a trash can over night. i saw very few insects there, but these guys were something. i think it was a small black fly.