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What is this bug that has invaded my culture and is it dangerous to my black soldier fly larva?
September 25, 2009
Hi, I have found and killed 30-40 of these bugs in my black soldier fly larva culture. They appear to be some sort of mimick cause they look very similar to adult soldier flies. They do not have wings or stingers. I have seen copulation so I am assuming they are adults. They have mandibles similar to an ant or beatle. Please let my know if these guys are simply a pest competing with the soldier fly larva for food or are the fly larva being preyed upon by this bug? And, if known, how do I get rid of them without damaging the culture or detering the attraction of the wild adult soldier flies laying eggs?
Jason P.
Dallas Texas

Hairy Rove Beetles

Hi Jason,
These are Hairy Rove Beetles,  Creophilus maxillosus, and they are predators.  According to BugGuide, they are found on dead animals and dung and they are:  “predaceous on fly larvae in [cattle] dung and on carrion.“ In most situations, we would tag your letter as Unnecessary Carnage, but in this case, we are torn. Since you are doing bio-composting with the Soldier Flies, you don’t want predators, even beneficial insects, invading your culture.   Sadly, we cannot provide any suggestions for keeping the Rove Beetles from the fly culture.

Hairy Rove Beetles

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