Black  Soldier  Fly  Larvae  Compos5ng  Diver5ng  food  waste  away  from  landfills  by  u5lizing  natural  processes  

Hunter  Bradshaw  bradshawrh@email.wofford.edu  

Figure  3-­‐  External  and  internal  view  of  the  of  BioPod™  Plus3  

All  compost  piles  were  located  in  the  Wofford  College  greenhouse.  Temperatures  inside  the  greenhouse  were  recorded  several  5mes  throughout  the  span  of  the  experiment.  The  first  aNempt  at  seOng  up  a  BSFL  compost  was  unsuccessful  in  reducing  the  food  waste.  The  compost  bin  was  home-­‐made  and  did  not  sustain  a  suitable  moisture  content  for  the  larvae.  The  second  aNempt  implemented  the  used  of  BioPod™  Plus,  a  compost  bin  manufactured  specifically  for  BSFL.  However,  the  larvae  in  the  compost  had  matured  past  the  point  of  ea5ng  and  were  preparing  for  pupa5on.  On  the  third  aNempt,  the  compost  was  inoculated  with  young  BSFL  bought  from  a  third-­‐party  vendor.    

Wofford  College  Environmental  Studies  Program:  Senior  Capstone  Project  

While  BSFL  are  very  hardy  insects,  several  condi5ons  must  be  met  to  ensure  a  successful  compost.    1.  Moisture  content-­‐  The  larvae  have  a  difficult  5me  

consuming  dried  food  and  can  drown  in  the  presence  of  too  much  liquid  so  be  considerate  of  what  goes  into  the  compost.  The  BioPod™  Plus  has  a  drainage  basin  to  prevent  drowning  and  occasional  sprays  of  water  will  keep  the  food  moist.  Be  sure  to  keep  the  compost  out  of  direct  sunlight,  as  this  will  speed  up  the  dehydra5on  process.  

2.  Temperature-­‐  Black  soldier  flies  are  na5ve  the  southern  United  States  and  thrive  best  in  temperatures  ranging  from  60-­‐100°  F7.  There  typically  three  genera5ons  per  warm  season  in  Georgia,  with  larvae  becoming  dormant  during  the  colder  months13.  This  project  spanned  from  late  January  un5l  late  March,  with  atmospheric  temperatures  reaching  as  low  as  9°  F27.  The  greenhouse  sustained  temperatures  high  enough  to  support  an  ac5ve  BSFL  colony  during  this  5me.    

   

Acknowledgements  I  would  like  to  thank  Dr.  Savage,  Dr.  Ferguson,  Professor  Lane,  Dr.  Rayner,  Junk  MaNers,  LLC,  Wallace  Campbell,  David  Thornton,  and  Bruce  Adams  for  their  support  guidance,  thoughrout  this  project.    

References  and  addi7onal  resources  

Abstract  Consolida5ng  trash  in  landfills  is  now  a  widespread  sanitary  prac5ce.  Landfills  are  essen5ally  a  non-­‐renewable  resource  because  of  a  limited  holding  capacity  and  restric5ons  on  building  new  ones.  Therefore,  landfills  must  be  used  as  efficiently  as  possible  through  only  receiving  material  that  cannot  be  diverted  elsewhere.  Two  landfill-­‐diversion  methods  are  recycling  and  compos5ng,  with  recovering  recyclables  being  much  more  common.  There  is  a  substan5ally  smaller  percent  of  organic,  compostable  materials  that  is  diverted  away  from  the  landfill,  leaving  much  room  for  improvement.  One  method  of  compos5ng  involves  using  black  soldier  fly  larvae  (BSFL),  a  non-­‐pest  insect,  to  consume  and  minimize  food  waste.  A  colony  of  BSFL  successfully  composted  food  waste  from  Wofford  College's  cafeteria,  located  in  Spartanburg,  South  Carolina.    

Experimental  Methods  Discussion  and  Recommenda7ons  

Results  The  young  larvae  successfully  reduced  the  food  waste  in  the  compost  and  matured  into  adult  flies.  The  5meline  of  the  third  compost  trial  is  denoted  listed  on  Table  1  (above  right).  

Figure  1-­‐              (On  left)  

Appearance  of  black  soldier  5ly  in  different  life  

stages  1  

1.  Black  Soldier  Fly.  Integrated  Pest  Management.  NC  Coopera5ve            Extension.  hNp://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG369/pics/black_soldier_fly.gif    2.  Direct  Compost  Solu5ons.  Life  Cycle  of  a  Black  Soldier  Fly.  hNp://directcompostsolu5ons.com/wp-­‐content/uploads/2014/08/BSF-­‐care-­‐card-­‐2-­‐inches.jpg  3.  External-­‐  BioPod.  BioPod  Plus.  hNp://www.thebiopod.com/pages/biopod-­‐plus_files/bp002b2010-­‐masked002btextx560.png  Internal-­‐  Aquabarrel.  BioPod  Plus,  Soldier  Grub  Composter.  hNp://www.aquabarrel.com/media/images/products/abpCbiopod_internalview_500w.png  4.  Prota™Culture.  BioPod™-­‐User’s  Guide.    hNp://www.thebiopod.com/pdf/BioPod-­‐Plus-­‐Manual.pdf  5.  Tomberlin  JK,  Sheppard  DC,  Joyce  JA.  2002.  Selected  life  history  traits  of  black  soldier  flies  (Diptera:  Stra5omyidae)  reared  on  three  ar5ficial  diets.  Annals  of  the  Entomological  Society  of  America  95:  379-­‐386.    6.  Weather  Underground.  Weather  History  for  KGSP-­‐  February  hNp://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KGSP/2015/2/23/MonthlyHistory.html?&reqdb.zip=&reqdb.magic=&reqdb.wmo=          

!

Table&1:&Compost!timeline&2/2/15& Inoculate!compost!with!600!small!larvae!and!743!g!of!food&2/4/15& Add!223!g!of!food&2/8/15& Add!851!g!of!food.&2/11/15& Add!537!g!of!food&2/15/15& Add!267!g!of!food&2/16/15& Add!188!g!of!food&2/18/15& First!6D!instar!larvae!sighted!climbing!migration!ramp&2/23/15& Add!416!g!of!food.!Eight!mature!larvae!in!collection!bin&2/24/15& About!30D40!larvae!in!collection!bin&3/2/15! Majority!of!food!gone.!Around!50D70!larvae!in!collection!bin.!Bugs!active!

because!of!warm!weather!(27.4°!C!at!2:30!pm)!3/9/15! 100+!larvae!in!collection!bin!3/11/15! 150+!larvae!in!collection!bin!3/12/15! Add!299!g!of!food!for!remaining!larvae.!200+!larvae!in!collection!bin!3/20/15! Add!367!g!of!food!3/25/15! First!appearance!of!adult!black!soldier!fly!

Figure  2-­‐              (On  right)              Life  cycle,  in  days,  of  the  black  soldier  

5ly2  

Conclusion  This  experiment  was  at  a  scale  comparable  to  a  home  sized  compost.  With  enough  par5cipa5on,  geographically  suitable  loca5ons  could  substan5ally  reduce  food  waste  coming  from  residen5al  areas.  Furthermore,  this  method  of  compos5ng  can  be  scaled  up  to  provide  cafeterias  and  restaurants  a  free  and  easy  to  maintain  food  disposal  service  that  requires  liNle,  to  no,  transporta5on  of  waste.  Currently,  there  are  only  a  few  formal  scien5sts  exploring  the  black  soldier  flies’    compos5ng  capabili5es.  As  informa5on  increases,  so  will  the  ability  to  u5lize  this  insect  for  a  beneficial  and  sustainable  prac5ce.