Black Soldier Flies

Diana Li here to talk about my work with black soldier flies.

Black soldier flies (BSFs) are typically found in subtropic and warm temperate climates. BSFs are utilized by many agriculturalists, as the grubs are voracious feeders and are known for their ability to incorporate high amounts of food into biomass. Adult flies are benign to humans, since they cannot bite.

The use of BSF larvae as an instrument in waste management has two benefits. Fixation of carbon from food scraps into high quality BSF larvae reduces carbon emissions. The on-site treatment of food waste also alleviates monetary investment in waste disposal.

Creating a self-propagating system in the New York climate is a major concern for the implementation of a large-scale system. The goal of this project is to define efficient environmental conditions for a BSF composting system at the college. We have purchased a BioPodTM and several thousand larvae. Food waste from the dining halls serves as feed. By monitoring environmental conditions and growth rates, we aim to determine if this system can reduce carbon emissions of food decomposition at Geneseo.

Recently, we have begun implementing composting of the flies’ leachate. We have also determined that the flies can handle animal products, as we have begun including meat and dairy in their food supply with positive results.

An adult fly enclosure has been constructed and, hopefully, the adult flies will emerge soon.

As I am about to graduate, Ashley Peppriell will be taking over the project with Dan DeZarn this summer and next fall.