Warm weather has returned to SoCal because I caught a Black Soldier Fly in the house today.  Most people would say that the flies and larvae are gross! However, I was thrilled to catch it, and I promptly gave her to my neighbor who has been hoping to establish them in her own compost without having to buy them.  I also gave her a few scoops of our compost that has had plenty of the larvae present in the past. Each Spring through Fall, the compost is usually teaming with them.

Although they are kind of scary looking as adults, a bit like a wasp, the adult flies don’t bite because they don’t have the necessary mouth parts.  Black Soldier flies (BSF) and their larvae are not disease carrying pests like house flies.  The presences of larvae often help to repel house flies in the compost area, and ranchers and farmers use them as fly predators and repellants.  Black Soldier Fly larvae eat all types of food waste and they can reduce the volume by up to 95%.  Combining Black Soldier Fly larvae composting with vermicomposting (with red wiggler worms) makes the most efficient organic compost.  The red wigglers (Eisenia foetida) in my compost are always present, but I only seem to have an active wild Black Soldier Fly colony during the warmer months.   Here is a link with more details about Black Soldier Flies if you are interested in reading more about why I was happy with this bug: http://blacksoldierflyblog.com/black-soldier-fly-white-magic/