The larvae are produced and processed in industrial-scale insect factories globally by biotechnology companies such as InnovaFeed and Protix, the latter operating the world's largest insect factory farm in the Netherlands. The larvae have voracious appetites and can be used for composting household food scraps and agricultural waste products.Īdditionally, black soldier fly larvae are an alternative source of protein for aquaculture, animal feed, pet food, and human nutrition. Instead, black soldier fly larvae play a role similar to that of redworms as essential decomposers in breaking down organic substrates and returning nutrients to the soil. The larvae and adults are considered neither pests nor vectors. īlack soldier flies feeding on sugar Human relevance and use Adults can live typically 47 to 73 days when provided with water and food, such as sugar in captivity or nectar in the wild, or survive for about 8 to 10 days on fat reserves gathered during larval stage when water is provided. The length of larval stage can be delayed by months due to low temperature or lack of food. The larval stage lasts from 18 to 36 days, depending on the food substrates provided to the larvae, of which the postfeeding (prepupal) stage lasts around 7 days. The larvae are able to feed on a wide variety of organic matter, adapting to diets with different nutrient content. Freshly emerged larvae are 1.0 millimetre (0.04 in) long, being able to reach a length of 25 millimetres (1 in) and weight of 0.10 to 0.22 grams (1.5 to 3.4 gr) by the end of larval stage. These eggs are typically deposited in crevices or on surfaces above or adjacent to decaying matter such as manure or compost, and hatch in about 4 days. Black soldier fly larvae can be differentiated from blowfly or housefly larvae by a thin gray-black stripe on their posterior ends.Īn adult female lays between 206 and 639 eggs at a time. The mimicry of this particular kind of wasp is especially enhanced in that the fly's antennae are elongated and wasp-like, the fly's hind tarsi are pale, as are the wasp's, and the fly has two small, transparent "windows" in the basal abdominal segments that make the fly appear to have a narrow "wasp waist".
illucens is a mimic fly, very close in size, color, and appearance to the organ pipe mud dauber wasp and its relatives. The wings are membranous at rest, they are folded horizontally on the abdomen and overlapped. The antennae are about twice the length of the head. The head is wide, with very developed eyes. The second abdominal tergite has translucent areas, from which the Latin specific epithet derives. These medium-sized flies have a predominantly black body, with metallic reflections ranging from blue to green on the thorax and sometimes with a reddish end of the abdomen. illucens measure about 16 millimetres ( 5⁄ 8 in) long.
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