Warningā¦ You are going to think Iām insane by the time you finish reading this postā¦
The other night was sitting on the couch and heard a bug bouncing on the ceiling ā you know the soundā¦ like a moth or fly. āUGH!ā I instantly thought of Emilyās Tweet about moths being dustyā¦ She Tweeted this last week:
my brother is the smartest person i know. this AM, he told me why moths are dusty..
When I asked her why she tweeted back:
@tmtdslt apparently the dust is actually tiny scales, like on a fish, that they shed when touched. both interesting and gross.
EWWWWWWWW! ICK!!! GROSS!
I knew The Offspring doesnāt like moths, so I got up to get it. Then I saw this creature which was as big as a wasp. CRAP! I went to get the fly swatter and then I froze and then jumped for joy and got supper giddy!
YEPā¦ excited and giddy over a bug continually bouncing off my ceiling!! This was not just any bugā¦ this was a very special bug!
I started talking to it and actually said, āDonāt you worry, Iām not going to kill you! I am going to rescue you and take you to your new home.ā
(yeahā¦ Iām nutsā¦ talking to a bugā¦)
I went to the cupboard and grabbed a one-cup bowl, lid, and a blueberry from the compost pailā¦ then a chair and climbed up on the chair ā taking care to NOT fall off of it in my excitement. (just what I need another fall, eh?)
Hereās what I trappedā¦ This is a Black Soldier Fly (BSF). Itās my FRIEND! You can see how bit it is compared to the blueberryā¦
This was my first sighting this season. I was so excited that I texted my friend Dude to let him knowā¦
Afterwards, I took him/her out to my new compost bin and dumped him/her inā¦ and quickly closed the lid.
I have been composting for over two years. These creatures are amazing!! They are much bigger than a āhouseflyā but serve a REAL purpose! They turn my kitchen scraps into wonderful compost! Last summer I saw with amazement how they devoured a rotting cucumber in less than two days!
According to http://www.blacksoldierflyblog.com the adults only live a few days (5-8) ā long enough to mate and lay eggs then they die!
Itās so amazing to LISTEN to themā¦ when I have a full colony going, I can here a āsuckingā sound coming from my compost bin! Kind of like the sound you hear when you step in a puddle of mud and then move your foot up and down.
Once my BSF colony gets going, I am going to do an experiment. I want to time them devouring scraps ā too bad I canāt setup my video cameraā¦ wouldnāt you just LOVE to watch it?!?
Do you have Black Soldier Flies in your compost bin?