Breading soldier flies (phoenix worms)?

[chadwick757]

I know some people in the UK have had some luck with breeding phoenix worms for personal use, but what about in the U.S.A and Canada? How do you breed them, house them ect?

 

[Arcais]

The only thing I've seen is the biopod: http://www.thebiopod.com/. If you are handy enough, you may be able to rig your own.

I've got silkworms and roaches going now. I think if I added PWs, that would push my wife over the edge

 

[Grixxly15]

Solider grubs feast on rotting material. How would you clean them off?

 

[diggerdrake]

actually phoenix worms consume massive amounts of food waste. it hardly has a chance to even begin rotting before they devour it. reading what is available at the biopod website a pound or worms will consume 5 pounds of garbage in as little as 24 hours. giving them a week to do their thing you could be looking at disposing of up to 100 pounds of garbage and reaping 5 pounds of compost that can be easily tilled into the soil in your garden. also you will have well over a gallon of "tea" that is a great fertlizer when diluted. also the "tea" will attract female soldier flies to lay their eggs for more grubs. given that time frame of a few weeks you may have as much as 20 pounds of phoenix worms. the only concern is it is difficult to have the flies captive and breeding for you as they require light and an altitude of up to 30' as they breed in flight. most rely on wild flies to lay eggs but the soldier fly has a lifespan of about a weeki. their only goal is reproduction and they do not eat hence their lack of mouths. the tea is also a deterent for other breeds of pest flies. go to the biopod site and do a bit of reading amd you will see the remarkable benefits of phoenix worms. they are used in controllong the food waste we take for granted as we dispose of it regularly which converts to methane gas in the landfills. just breeding them to breed them you can reduce the carbon footprint considerable and reap the rewards of a great compost in a small amount of time compared to the compost heaps some have going. the phoenix worms will reduce refuse in a short amount of time but they don't consume lawn clippings and such. you can also have a separate pod with them for disposal of dog poop and even use them to reduce any type of animal waste. I been doing some reading but 2 concerns have come up. 1: the availibity of wild flies in the cooler climates (it may be a seasonat thing) 2: the concept of relying on wild flies for the eggs that you would have control over after collecting them.

 

[gulum]

Is that what phoenix worms are? We have heaps growing in the worm farm and compost. FREE FOOD!!!