Soldier Fly Research

Students at the Gibbs Permaculture Research and Demonstration Site have been researching the potential of Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) as a biological means to manage pre and post consumer food waste at Western Michigan University. This research includes an early partnership with Bell's Brewery (full report here) to see if BSFL can provide a sustainable means to divert waste and increase composting on their site. Students have been working with WMU's Fetzer Center and Dining Services to see how efficient BSFL are at composting food waste. More recent studies are looking to determine if Black Soldier Flies can be bred throughout the year to maintain a viable population that can support a year-long composting effort. Conceptually, this research has been integrated within the design of a Local Loop Farm that seeks to create a Closed Loop Economy. The design from our interdisciplinary team of students won the National Wege Competition in 2015.  

A select collection of BSFL reports are available on this page and reports about BSFL and other student research topics can be found on our student reports page. 

Winter 2015 / Spring 2015

Additional Reports:

Fall 2016  Black Soldier Fly Compost Study Continuation by Kate Dusenbury

Interim Summer 16 Report  Phase 2: Breeding by Alexandra Leist and Kate Dusenbury

Summer 2016  Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting  Phase 2: Breeding by Alexandra Leist and Kate Dusenbury

Summer/Spring 2015  Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting at Bell's Brewery by Alexandra Leist

Spring 2015  Post-Consumer Food Waste Management: Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting by Alexandra Leist

Fall 2014   Western Michigan University Post-Consumer Food Waste Management: Black Soldier Fly Larvae by Alexandra Leist

Bells Brewery Report  Black Soldier Fly Larvae Composting at Bell's Brewery by Alexandra Leist