Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens)

Latin Name	Observation Date	Location
Hermetia illucens	Jun 04, 2026	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Name:
This beneficial insect is best known worldwide as the Black Soldier Fly or BSFL for short. Its larvae are also commercially marketed as pet food under various names such as Phoenix Worms, Soldier Grubs or Calciworms.
​Scientific Name:
The scientific name of this insect in biology is Hermetia illucens.
​Family and Genus:
It belongs to the order Diptera under the phylum Arthropoda and class Insecta. The fly is mainly a member of the family Stratiomyidae. Its genus or genus is Hermetia.

​Size:
A full-grown black soldier fly is about 16 millimeters or 5/8 inch in length. The adult fly is black in color, but its thorax has a beautiful metallic blue or greenish hue. On the other hand, although the initial larva that hatches from the egg is only 1.0 mm in size, the full-grown larva can be up to 25 mm long. The weight of their larvae is usually between 0.10 and 0.22 g.

​Inhabitation and habitat:
This fly was originally native to the Neotropical region. However, over time, it has spread to almost all continents except Antarctica and has become a global species. Currently, its spread can be seen from North America, Europe, Africa, Australia to South Asian countries such as India and Pakistan. They are generally not attracted to human settlements or human food, but prefer to stay near decaying organic matter or manure piles.

​Food:
The diet of adult flies is quite peculiar; since they do not have spongy mouthparts, they cannot eat solid food, but only consume flower nectar or liquid food. In many cases, adult flies do not eat at all and live off the fat stored in their bodies as larvae. However, the larvae have a voracious appetite. The larvae can digest almost any type of organic matter, including household waste, agricultural waste, vegetables, and animal feces. They are even able to consume organic matter contaminated with heavy metals such as cadmium or zinc.

​Reproduction:
Their life cycle is basically divided into four stages. An adult female fly is capable of laying about 200 to 600 eggs at a time. The eggs hatch within just 4 days of being laid near decomposing organic matter. The larval stage lasts from 18 to 36 days, depending on the amount of food. They then pass through the prepupa stage for about 7 days and the pupa stage for 1 to 2 weeks. A full-grown fly can survive for 47 to 73 days with food and water, but only 8 to 10 days without food. Temperatures of 24 to 40 degrees Celsius and 70% humidity are ideal for their reproduction and egg laying.

​Benefits:
The benefits of black soldier flies to nature and humans are immense. First, they work like magic in waste management; their larvae quickly eat waste, reducing its volume by about 50% and making excellent compost. Second, the larvae are rich in protein and fat, making them a great alternative and nutritious food for poultry, fish and pigs. They are also excellent at reducing harmful bacteria such as E. coli and Salmonella in animal feces. Larval waste or frass is used in agriculture as a very high-quality organic fertilizer rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In addition, their larvae can be used to produce grease for the cosmetics industry and chitin for water treatment or agriculture. Their stomach microbes can also play a very effective role in producing enzymes capable of digesting plastic waste. Unlike ordinary flies, they do not spread pathogens and do not bite or sting humans.

Harmfulness:
Generally, the larvae or adult flies of the black soldier fly are not considered harmful or pests and do not spread any diseases. However, there are some natural obstacles to commercial farming on farms. For example, in West Africa, a type of parasitic wasp called Dirhinus giffardii damages their pupae and can reduce their production by up to 72%. In addition, the fluid secreted by their larvae contains harmful enzymes and is slightly acidic, making it difficult to cultivate them in the same container with redworms. The movement of the larvae can increase the temperature and destroy the living environment of the earthworms.

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I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.)
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	MIX
Photography	Black Soldier Fly (Hermetia illucens)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh

Link to original community
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/368413651

Latitude	Longitude	Map Link
24.3369	89.1120	https://www.openstreetmap.org/?#map=12/24.3369/89.1120