I usually don’t like what I call Hallmark holidays like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. It was fun when the boys were little and I got cute homemade cards and gifts made at school. But now that everyone is older I really don’t care if we celebrate or not. This year, though, I did ask for a present. I have long wanted one of these and so I asked for a BioPod.
What is a BioPod? Why it is a plastic container for raising Black Soldier Fly Grubs!
My pod arrived last week and I ordered a small container of the grubs from a company that calls them Phoenix Worms. I am not sure why they are called that as they are not worms.
When they arrived today, I promptly filled the BioPod with the contents of the compost bucket and added the grubs. They are only about 1/4 of an inch long but will hopefully eat, grow, and turn into big grubs. If you click on the picture and then zoom in you can see the grubs.
When they are ready to pupate into flies they will crawl up and out of this bin and fall into a collection bucket. Most will become chicken food but a few will be placed in a container with some potting soil. They will bury themselves and turn into flies. When they emerge, they will mate and the females will then, hopefully, lay their eggs back in the BioPod and keep the cycle going. The adult flies do not eat so they are not annoying to humans like regular houseflies.
To learn more about this process, visit http://blacksoldierflyblog.com
The pod is located on the north side of the house so that it will stay in the shade.
The tiny grubs are already chowing down. (Click to enlarge if you want)