Is there a way to extend the larvae state of bsfl?

[BenjiTheCham]

I am planning on feeding black soldier fly larvae as feeders to my cham and I was wondering if there is a way to extend the larvae state of them. I don’t want to buy them from Josh’s frogs because of the $15 shipping cost and none of my nearby stores sell them (as far as I know, but I live in Minneapolis so if anyone knows a place, feel free to tell me). My other option is amazon and eBay, but the only ones I can find are containers of 500! I read that they stay in the larvae state for 2-3 weeks. I know that you can feed them as flies, too, but that is only another like 5 days. Is there any way I could make them stay in the larvae state longer?

 

[MissSkittles]

They can be stored in the fridge, I believe. Have you checked the forum sponsor Calci-grubs? You can order 250.

 

[Grayson Payne]

They can be stored in the fridge, I believe. Have you checked the forum sponsor Calci-grubs? You can order 250.

Do you order from them? If so, how is the quality of the BSFL?

 

[BenjiTheCham]

They can be stored in the fridge, I believe. Have you checked the forum sponsor Calci-grubs? You can order 250.

Oh, no I haven’t, but thanks!

 

[MissSkittles]

Do you order from them? If so, how is the quality of the BSFL?

I’ll be getting my first shipment on Saturday. I’ll let you know then.

 

[Vert340]

The only real why I know to extend their larval state is to not feed them at all. They don't need to be fed to grow so any extra food you give em just makes em grow faster. You technically CAN store them in a cool area and it'll slow down their growth but its a bit tricky because you kind of can't put them in a fridge or some will start dying. They'd need to have temps around 51ish to 60ish degrees Fto grow slower, if its colder than that then some will end up dying. At least from my experience

 

[RyanBRZ]

They need to be kept warmer than the fridge, 50-55F range, to be safe.

I have successfully kept one batch of BSFL in the refrigerator back before I knew any better, and I took them out as needed.

Then I bought a batch from Sympton, who's FAQ's say it's ok to refrigerate, and they all died.

Maybe place a thermometer in different places of your fridge. Maybe the door is a little warmer?

 

[JacksJill]

Wine fridge is your best bet for cool but not cold storage.

 

[cyberlocc]

Wine fridge is essential for feeders! You can slow down all the buggos. Like they was fine wine!

 

[MissSkittles]

I never have stored them, but is good to know how.

 

[cyberlocc]

I never have stored them, but is good to know how.

I haven't tried it yet, but alot of the Mantis guys say they can fridge them right before pupatation (for bottle flies, maybe soldiers) and then that way they can take out a pupa, and it will become a fly within an hour of being out.

I think it depends how they show up. My first time getting BSFL they all pupated and turned to flys drastically diffrent times and 4-5 would emerge a day, sometimes 10. That was manageable. Got them again as crawlouts (my cham dont like the larvae, he goes nuts for the flies though)

They
Crawl outs all pupated and emerged in like 4 days. I had hundreds in a 2 week period, and most just died . I couldn't feed that many. So in that case I wish I'd of tried fridging them. They say to do it, after a couple emerge, then let them out (feed em) ans fridge the rest. As the rest if pupated at similar time, are going to emerge, immediately once not cold.

 

[Grayson Payne]

How do you guys gutload the larvae?

 

[BenjiTheCham]

How do you guys gutload the larvae?

From what I’ve read they don’t need to be gutloaded, but I could be wrong

 

[Grayson Payne]

From what I’ve seen they don’t need to be gutloaded, but I could be wrong

I know they don't need to be calcium supplemented but I was wondering about gut loading.

 

[cyberlocc]

How do you guys gutload the larvae?

You feed them kitchen scraps they eat it.

I think TBH that folks put way too much stock into "Gutloading". The insects stomachs are so small, it really is not going to make much difference. The key is have good healthy, well fed insects "Gutloading" is to sell more product. IMO.

 

[Grayson Payne]

You feed them kitchen scraps they eat it.

I think TBH that folks put way too much stock into "Gutloading". The insects stomachs are so small, it really is not going to make much difference. The key is have good healthy, well fed insects "Gutloading" is to sell more product.

I agree to an extent. I am constantly “gut loading” my roaches by having food in there all the time rather than pulling a few for a night then feed them off.

 

[BenjiTheCham]

I know they don't need to be calcium supplemented but I was wondering about gut loading.

Yeah that’s what I was thinking of

 

[MissSkittles]

How do you guys gutload the larvae?

I do feed my bsfl at least once or twice a week. Not so much for gutloading, but more for trying to be humane. I figure the poor little maggots have got to be hungry/thirsty. I just give them the scraps from cutting up whatever I‘m giving the other buggies. They don’t care for greens so much, but everything else is devoured.

 

[Vert340]

I've never gut loaded bsfl because like i said feeding em makes em grow faster ime. Also since you asked about a source for bsfl, you can try mulberry farms.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Its known as the silkworm place but they really sell a variety of worms. I get my hornworms,silkworms, and bsfl fron there. They have a 100 count bsfl cup if you aren't looking for a large amount of bsfl.

 

[Redman]

As for the question of ordering from Calcigrubs, I have done it, and they gave me exactly what I asked for, in fact more than I ordered. I will continue to do business with them, for sure.