Black Soldier Fly Larvae Stages of Life
Black Soldier Flies Larvae are currently the subject of significant research in universities and companies around the world. The race is on find the best way of producing BSFL for a sustainable source of protein for human and animal consumption including fish food in aquaculture and utilising their vivacious appetite as a mass recycler of human and animal waste. Black soldier fly insects are expected to play a big role in our future.
Black Soldier Flies are also growing in popularity as a nutritious feeder for pets including lizards, turtles, frogs, predatory fish, scorpions, spiders, native birds and chickens.
PetWave premium quality Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens) are recommended by many veterinarians, as the only calcium-rich feeder that has naturally balanced calcium and phosphorus. BSFL are high calcium and low in fat, which makes them an excellent staple feeder for any grub or worm eating reptiles such as Bearded Dragons, geckos, green tree frogs and turtles. Black Soldier Fly Larvae are also great for many types of birds including chooks.
Check out the Black Soldier Fly Larvae Care Sheet.
Stages of Growth:
|
PetWave Product |
Stage |
Features |
Ideal For Pets |
|
“Mini” Black Soldier Fly Larvae Mini |
2nd instar |
Up to 3mm in length White in colour Active movement Some odour when moist |
Green Tree Frogs Baby Bearded Dragons Small Geckos Small Spiders Small Scorpions |
|
“Larva” Black Soldier Fly Larvae |
3rd or 4thinstar |
Up to 20mm in length White in colour Active movement Some odour when moist |
Bearded Dragons Forest Dragons Water Dragons Large Geckos Large Spiders Large Scorpions |
|
“Pre-Pupa” Black Soldier Fly Larvae Pre-Pupa |
Prepupal stage |
Up to 20mm in length Dark Brown in colour Some movement Little odour |
Chooks Plus Above Pets |
|
“Pupa” Black Soldier Fly Larvae Pupa |
Pupal Stage |
Pupa Stage: Up to 25mm in length Black in colour Minimal Movement No odour Can be stored at 12oC for months Fly Stage: Keep cool and allow to hatch into flies within a week |
Hatched flies are perfect for: Green Tree Frogs Baby Bearded Dragons Geckos Small Spiders Small Scorpions |
PetWave supply four different stages of Black Soldier Fly Larvae - Mini, Larvae, Pre-Pupa and Pupa (for flies).
Buy your Black Soldier Fly Larvae online in Australia with free freight & over night delivery.
Size of BSFL: Vitaworms are 10 to 25mm in length and 6mm in diameter
Packaging of BSFL: We package the Black Soldier Fly Larvae in a substrate of organic feed inside a plastic tub or calico bag and then placed in an aerated cardboard box to ensure that they arrive in premium condition.
Names of Black Soldier Fly Larvae:
On the internet, the humble BSFL are known by a myriad of brand names including Calci Worms, Phoenixworms, Biogrubs, Nutrigrubs, Reptiworms and Soldier Grubs. In Australia, the most common names on online forums for the Black Soldier Fly Larvae include BFSL, Vitaworms, Calciworms, Lizard Grubs, Phoenix Worms, Dragons Crunchy Critters & Beardie Grubs.
Black Soldier Flies are edible at pre-pupate, pupate & fly stages.
Nutritional Value of Black Soldier Fly Larvae:
Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) compares favourably to other popular feeders with a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1.5:1, very close to the ideal 2:1 ratio without the gut-loading or calcium powder dusting required with other live insect feeders:
|
Fat |
Protein |
Calcium |
Phosphorous |
Calcium to Phosphorous Ratio |
|
|
Vitaworms |
9% |
17% |
8115 ppm |
5400 |
1.52 |
|
Crickets |
6% |
21% |
345 ppm |
4300 |
0.08 |
|
Mealworms |
13% |
20% |
133 ppm |
3400 |
0.04 |
*these ratios can be further improved with a specialised & balanced diet
Benefits of Black Soldier Fly Larvae:
- great food for a picky eater, irresistible to most reptiles, birds and larger fish
- BSFL mini-larvae and larvae are extremely active, wiggling intensely. This behaviour makes them exciting and enticing to your pet
- they are easily confined to a food bowl during your reptile’s meal, so easy to catch and eat for your pet
- this perfect herp food can help with growth and development of bones, nerves, egg and can help to prevent or reverse metabolic bone disease, common in Beardies and other lizards and frogs
- no calcium dusting or gut loading required before feeding to your pet
- BSFL contains high levels of lauric acid (known to kill reptile viruses, protozoa and coccidian) including significantly reducing dangerous E Coli and Salmonella on your pet, thereby acting as a natural antibiotic
- Black Soldier Fly Larvae require no feeding
- they make noise
- nutritional boost for gravid or just-laid females; increases the chance of healthy offspring
- great starter food for lizard hatchlings or baby frogs, giving them an early boost of nutrition to increase their health
BSFL worms can be kept alive at room temperature for up to 8 weeks. If you want to keep them longer, they can be stored at 12°C for many months. However important not to keep them in a normal refrigerator as they mainly run at 5°C which is too cold for the BSFL.
Diagram 1 is attributed to: Microbial Community Dynamics during Rearing of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens) & Impact on Exploitation Potential, by Jeroen De Smet, Enya Wynants, Paul Cos, Leen Van Campenhout