Phoenix worm breeding caresheet..

[moonstruck]

no no sorry, it's me getting you confused

phoenix worms are black soldier fly larvae

but as far as i'm aware, the actual "phoenix worms" are produced by an american company, it's just a trade name they've given them to make them more appealing basically, and because they raise them in a particular way.

so not all black soldier fly larvae are phoenix worms....

[LoveForLizards]

Dont worry, it doesnt take a lot to confuse me Lol

I get it now, thanks.

[Blaptica]

Yep moonstruck is totally correct in what she/he says.

I have can think of four reasons why we are reporting breeding using very different methods.

1 I am lying
2 LFS is lying.

straightaway I would say that either is unlikely to be the case.

3 Is it possible that LFS started with soldier flies, but another species that looks similiar to BSF got in the culture and that is what LFS is breeding ? BSF larvae look very similiar to other fly larvae. Though I think the "peg" at the end of the body is very distinctive in the larvae. Maybe LFS could post some pics of the flies and the larvae they are breeding ?

4 The BSF have adapted to the different conditions. As in normal darwinian selection the flies/larvae that coped with cold conditions were the ones that bred and produced more BSF that were more tolerant to the cold. But still I would say 12-15c is just too cold for BSF but 20c would be ok for houseflies !

I live in Portugal not the UK. The last couple of weeks have seen daytime temps around 14-20c but I have not seen any flies yet. I should explain BSF are now found wild outside of the US. I know they are in both Southern Europe WHERE IT IS WARM !!! and also in Australia. The wild flies will not emerge here until at least the last part of April when temps are in the high 20's. They are most frequently seen here in the middle of summer when temps are in the 30's. This is when my captive ones do best too. The BSF naturally hibernate as pupae in the soil and that is what mine are now doing. I have no reason to breed them right now.

[LoveForLizards]

They are definitly BSF. I got given a tub of phoenix worms and was asked to breed them and they are in a box in a box in a box so the chances of anything else getting in there without me putting it in there is almost 0.
The whole thing is confusing me. Either that or I have read the temps wrong and they are 25-27C/35-37C ?
I will get a new thermometer soon and take a look at the temps as I took it out soon after sorting the temps out because it got in the way. But surely I would have noticed if it was higher then I thougt it was...

[Blaptica]

The temperature in the breeding set up should be at least that of the room temp. 12-15c would make it a very cold house ! Most people are comfortable at around 18c or a little higher. Off subject a little I know but I feel strongly that every reptile keeper needs a simple digital thermomer. Those cheap dial or strip ones cannot be relied upon to give accurate readings. Spending £12-13 on a digital one would be in my view a good investment.

[LoveForLizards]

Originally Posted by Blaptica

The temperature in the breeding set up should be at least that of the room temp. 12-15c would make it a very cold house ! Most people are comfortable at around 18c or a little higher. Off subject a little I know but I feel strongly that every reptile keeper needs a simple digital thermomer. Those cheap dial or strip ones cannot be relied upon to give accurate readings. Spending £12-13 on a digital one would be in my view a good investment.

Since she has gone out now, I will just say she hasnt got any reptiles therefore doesnt keep digital thermometers in the house, they are bred for a local breeder



(Yes, I know this post is probably confusing...look at the signature )

[Blaptica]

So if you want to breed soldier flies the best temps for the flies are 12-15c, or it might be 25-27c, or it might be 35-37c ?

Maybe you need to use two different user names ?

[RutgerDijkstra]

Hi, i cant help but notice that u seem to have selfbreeding BSF's :P
i am realy curious to how ur setup is build, i would like it if u posted or send me some pic's of it.. and also, did u get a fix on the temp. your breeding at?
Oh, and with howmany did u start out with? and with the Phoenix worm cups or just a bag of BSF larvea?

Im sorry for all the questions but these seem like the perfect feederinsect but they are to expensive for me to keep buying, so i would love to breed them..

[LoveForLizards]

Will try get some pics once I get my camera back and find the lead for the laptop.
The temps are definitely right on the first page, I used a digi thermometer and the temps were showing up th same give or take 1 or 2 C. Go figure!
I started out with roughly 80 larvae/phoenix worms, kept them in the conditions I was asked to and they started breeding from there.

[RutgerDijkstra]

ah oke thank you, and did u use the branded "phoenix worms" (the ones from the black plastic box, that cost 9.5 euro per 100) cause im thinking that "phoenix worms" may have bin treated so they dont become flies and just die when they reach that stage..

so does anyone know of actual phoenix worms becomming flies? i never heard someone report that..