# Black Soldier Fly

*Hermetia illucens*

Larvae are so voracious they can consume double their body weight in waste daily, naturally suppressing harmful bacteria and pest fly populations.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Diptera › Stratiomyidae › Hermetia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** increasing
- **Biome:** urban
- **Habitat:** Compost heaps, decomposing organic matter, agricultural areas, and forest margins.
- **Diet:** Larvae consume decaying organic waste, compost, and manure; adults do not feed, surviving entirely on fat reserves.
- **Range:** North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australia
- **Size:** Adults: 15-20 mm in length.
- **Lifespan:** Larvae: 2-4 weeks; Adults: 5-8 days.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Pesticides, habitat sanitization, and extreme cold temperatures.
- **Safe to approach?:** Completely harmless. Adults lack functional mouthparts and cannot bite or sting. They are safe to observe at any distance. If one lands on you, simply let it rest or gently brush it away.

## About

Hermetia illucens , the black soldier fly , is a common and widespread fly of the family Stratiomyidae. The larvae and adults are considered neither pests nor vectors. Instead, black soldier fly larvae play a similar role to that of redworms as essential decomposers in breaking down organic substrates and returning nutrients to the soil.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/0ce2857b-683e-4349-acc3-72ac059a5e0d
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82177
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermetia illucens
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/97683465/medium.jpg (Katja Schulz, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.