Mini Black Soldier Fly Larvae | Mini-Stage | Handypak of 20g | Approx. 1500 insects | 3mm Long | BSFL | Calciworms

PetWave Premium Quality Black Soldier Fly Larvae (Hermetia illucens) or VitaWorms are recommended by many veterinarians, as the only calcium-rich feeder that has naturally balanced calcium and phosphorus. Vitaworms are high calcium and low in fat, which makes it an excellent staple feeder for any grub or worm eating reptiles such as Bearded Dragons, other lizards, amphibians and turtles. Black Soldier Fly Larvae are also great for many types of birds including chooks.

 

Check out the Black Soldier Fly Larvae Care Sheet and Black Soldier Fly Stages of Life Blog.

 

 

Size of BSFL: Vitaworms are ~10 to ~25mm in length and ~6mm in diameter for all but mini-stages which are around ~3mm in length and ~2mm in diameter.

 

Packaging of BSFL: We package the Black Soldier Fly Larvae in a substrate of organic feed inside a plastic tub or calico bag and then placed in an aerated cardboard box to ensure that they arrive in premium condition.

 

Names of Black Soldier Fly Larvae:

 

On the internet, the humble BSFL are known by a myriad of brand names including Calci Worms, Phoenixworms, BIOgrubs, Nutrigrubs, Reptiworms and Soldier Grubs. In Australia, the most common names on online forums for the Black Soldier Fly Larvae include BFSL, Vitaworms, Calciworms, Lizard Grubs, Phoenix Worms, Dragons Crunchy Critters & Beardie Grubs.

 

Black Soldier Flies Larvae are increasing in popularity around the world as a nutritious feed for reptiles, turtles, predatory fish, scorpions, spiders and birds including chooks. In some countries, people are using BSFL as a sustainable source of protein for human consumption and as mass recycler of waste. These Lizard Grubs are expected to play a big role in our future.

 

Black Soldier Flies are edible at pre-pupa (mini & white & dark pre-pupa stages) & fly stages.

 

Nutritional Value of VitaWorms:

 

Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL) compares favourably to other popular feeders with a calcium to phosphorous ratio of 1.5:1, very close to the ideal 2:1 ratio without gutloading or calcium powder required with other feeders:

 

	Fat	Protein	Calcium	Phosphorous	Calcium to Phosphorous Ratio
Vitaworms	9%	17%	8115 ppm	5400	1.52
Crickets	6%	21%	345 ppm	4300	0.08
Mealworms	13%	20%	133 ppm	3400	0.04

*these ratios can be further improved with a specialised & balanced diet

 

Benefits of Black Soldier Fly Larvae:

• great food for a picky eater, irresistible to most reptiles, birds and larger fish
• the BSFL are extremely active, wiggling intensely. This behaviour makes them exciting and enticing to your pet
• they are easily confined to a food bowl during your reptile’s meal, so easy to catch and eat
• this perfect herp food can help with growth and development of bones, nerves, egg and can help to prevent or reverse metabolic bone disease, common in Beardies and other lizards and frogs
• no calcium dusting or gut loading required before feeding to your pet
• BSFL contains high levels of lauric acid (known to kill reptile viruses, protozoa and coccidian) including significamtly reducing dangerous E Coli and Salmonella on your pet, thereby acting as a natural antibiotic
• Vitaworms require no feeding
• they make no odour or noise
• nutritional boost for gravid or just-laid females; increases the chance of healthy offspring
• great start for hatchlings, giving them an early boost of nutrition to increase their health

BSFL worms can be kept alive at room temperature for up to 8 weeks. If you want to keep them longer, they can be stored at 12°C  to 18°C for many months. However important not to keep them in a normal refrigerator as normal frdges mainly run at 4 to 5°C which is too cold for the BSFL to survive.